


Barrier

by MysticMoonhigh



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: AU, Hospital, M/M, Mai has a lot of sass, Puzzleshipping, Yami's sexuality is never really explicitly stated, blind!Yuugi, but he's asexual ok, deaf!Yami, disablement, sick!Mokuba
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-11-15
Packaged: 2018-02-06 02:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 74,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1841497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticMoonhigh/pseuds/MysticMoonhigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yami is a deaf teenage boy, abandoned by his parents when he was born. Forced to live at the hospital and not wanting to go to a foster home, Yami refuses to lean to read lips or speak. When Yuugi Mutou comes in, his eyesight and parents having been taken from him, Yami actually wants to learn more about him. But is that even possible with the communication barrier? Puzzleshipping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Start of a Life Abandoned

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings, readers. This is the release of the long anticipated Barrier! This will update bi-weekly, so every two Tuesdays. The chapters will be from 6,000-8,000 words in length. There will be ten. The final word count for only the things I have typed in the document is somewhere around 72,000, just to let you know what you're getting into.
> 
> I would like to dedicate this to the fine Kafae-Latte of DA, because she was my inspiration for this fic. I have a link to her original website up on my profile, she draws comics. PLEASE if you're grateful for this story, go and take the time to check it out. Or, you could go follow her on DA. OR BOTH!
> 
> I have two people who have read/are reading this to be my basic betas. Their usernames on wattpad are ShatteredPrism and Jazzymin97. Shout out to them, too!
> 
> I do NOT own YuGiOh!, I do not own the characters except for technically Anna, who I just stuck in because she doesn't appear much and I couldn't think of anyone who would have fit. I own the plot, please don't steal it.

Screams pierced through the air as the woman, surrounded by doctors in the cold and unfamiliar room, pushed. She gave a shaky intake of breath, feeling like she would faint without the much-needed air, and pushed again, letting another scream tear out of her lungs as pain echoed through her. Her own strangled sound reached her ears and she felt a tear slowly trail down her face. This was not how she had imagined giving birth would be; clarity was not as sharp as people made it out. The haze of pain made everything seem unrealistic.

"Come on, you're almost there." One of the nurses said, sympathy shining in her eyes. She was an elderly woman, and you could tell by the gentle way she reached out and grasped the hand now popping veins on the railing that she had been in this same position many years ago. She comfortingly stroked a thumb down the side of the woman's hand, eyes darting up to hold the other's.

The woman let out one final groan of pain as she pushed harder than she had before, feeling the worst wave crest and then subside, blinding her sight with white. She slumped, not having realized that she arched in the first place, and her eyes shut tightly against the knowledge that it was done. She let out a shaky sigh of relief, panting harshly to catch her breath. The nurse beside her made little comforting sounds as her child began to wail, and the doctor announced in a flat voice that it was male. Not that she could find it in her to care for the gender of the baby.

The doctors already knew that the woman had chosen to leave her baby boy behind. In fact, the doctors knew the woman herself. She was famous among many, a movie star who had been out of commission for the past six months. When she found out she was pregnant, she immediately went into hiding. The only people who knew were the father, (who had suggested that she leave the baby) and her doctor. She would have kept it, if it hadn't been for... Well...

Being the son of an actress could be stressful. All the cameras in your face and all the people pulling you this way and that constantly, as if you were some wind up toy to be admired and then tossed aside and forgotten... It would in no way suit a young, developing boy. Besides that, the father was not ready to take on a child, much less one like him. Because, you see, these were not the real reasons she was leaving her child behind. She had convinced herself of her plan for the greater good of the child simply to sleep at night.

As soon as she had read positive on her test, her doctor had ordered several tests about the baby to be run. One of them, a test of the fluid surrounding the baby, came back just a little off. They knew that something was going to be wrong with her baby, they just didn't know what. So, she had told the father.

Almost immediately, the suggestion of putting him up for adoption came up. She had no way to care for a child and foster her career, she couldn't have a child with special needs. Not only that, but to put a child through not only having a pair of famous actors as parents but having a disability as well? Some people would do what they knew was right- Stay with the child and find a way to work it out for better or for worse, but... She had so many obligations in life, forgotten contraception once was not going to ruin everything.

So, she'd decided to give the baby to the hospital. She had been eager to get it over with and even induced her own labor a month early, knowing that the chances her baby would be harmed from it were there, if minimal. Now, it was finally over, and she was ready to just relax a couple of days and then get out of here. She had to hit the gym now if she had any hope of reviving her career in three months- nobody would suspect that she was pregnant in the first place. Everything would go just as she had planned.

The screaming of a child in the background was hurting her head- the room seemed too bright and the atmosphere seemed much too dark for bringing something beautiful into the world. She slowly sat up on her elbows to glimpse the doctors pressing the baby's ink-stained feet to a sheet of flimsy white paper, his birth certificate. One of the doctors leaned down when the main one had finished, writing down the date and time that the event took place. She watched as the writhing baby was held tight against the nurse's chest and carried over to the incubator, focusing on the clip clop of the nurse's heels. The sound reminded her of a clock ticking; maybe a clock counting down her time with this burden.

"Would you like to hold him before we take him away?" A doctor asked, knowing the answer but still feeling inclined to ask it.

The woman shook her head no, knowing that if she did the whole thing would seem much, much too real. The doctor shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do next. There were a couple more questions that were standard for an adoption to ask, but he didn't want to ask if he already knew the answer and she was looking so dead inside about it. He shifted again, giving a deep sigh. His job was his job, after all.

The sound of rain began on the roof, the soft pitter-patter giving the woman something else to focus on other than the pain in her head. The baby had just stopped crying, and she had already began to categorize this in her head as a fading memory- a moment of frustration not to be revisited. The clash of thunder would have caused her to jump had she cared enough at the moment to do so.

"Do you have any specifications about where the baby should be placed?" The doctor asked, his brows furrowing as he gave a small frown. She sighed.

"No." She said softly, not even bothering to open her eyes. There was the soft scrawl of pencil across paper as the doctor marked the form.

"Would you like to pick out a name for the child, understanding that the adopting family may change it?" He asked. At this, the woman paused.

"Let the nurse." She said, gesturing to the woman in her mid-50s who had held her hand through the pain. The woman's, Anna's, eyes widened slightly before a small smile appeared on her wrinkled face. It was clear that she had smiled many times through the years. "It won't matter in the long run, but she really helped me out."

The doctor turned to the nurse with slightly raised eyebrows, the silent question clear by his posture, the way he was holding himself as if anticipating the answer. He knew that Anna had been upset at her own misfortune of only having two children before her body was too weak, and he'd seen the longing looks she'd given the other babies in the nursery. Maybe, even if it brought Anna only a glimpse of happiness to name the young man, something good could come out of this.

Anna's lips pursed in the most curious way as she looked at the young boy. "Yami seems to suit him." She said, picking him up in her arms. A glance at the mother proved that she was already asleep, her body spent from the five hours of labor it had taken to finally push Yami out. She turned to the doctor with a small, mischievous smile on her face. "Are there any laws against us keeping him at the hospital, at least until we know what his handicap is?"


	2. The Normal Life of Yami X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to know Yami.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Time for the first chapter! Warning: If you beg me to update soon or even mention the word update in your review, it will make me angry. I will update every other week. No more and no less.
> 
> Please review if you find you enjoy this.
> 
> I do NOT own YuGiOh!

Chapter 1:

The Normal Life of Yami X.

Yami bent down slowly, not wanting to get up and drag himself through yet another boring day in his life. He grabbed both of his shoe laces in his hands and tied them in a neat little knot, making sure to tie them tight this time so he wouldn't have to do them up again, which he often did. Somehow, no matter what he seemed to do, his shoe laces always seemed to come untied. As if he needed an addition to his admittedly clumsy nature.

He whipped himself back up, deciding that if he had to go out and face the day he might as well do it with energy. As Anna would used to say (well, sign), "Nothing's worth doing if you can't force yourself to smile while doing it."

Well, what she did say. (Okay, so Yami couldn't hear it, but still.) Anna had been like a mother to Yami- It had been her idea originally that the hospital would keep him instead of putting him in the foster care system and letting him move around from house to house, praying that he might one day find a family generous enough to take him under their loving wing- of course, reminding him constantly that he somehow owed them for taking so much of their precious lives to raise him. No sirree, he'd heard some horror stories of foster parents or adoptive parents treating their children as in-home nannies and workers, and respect without respect in turn was not his cup of tea. He was grateful to Anna for doing that.

He was also grateful to Anna for teaching him what he had to do to stay after she had been gone.

Anna had felt herself growing old- that's the reason she didn't adopt Yami herself in the first place, knowing that she couldn't take care of him the way that she should and balance a job at the same time. So, doing the logical thing, while her mind was still with her, she explained to Yami what was keeping him at the hospital.

"The administrator is only approving your boarding here because you don't know how to speak. Since you're a deaf kid, he doesn't want you to go to a foster home where they'd have to stick you into a private school, because it would be hard as hell finding somebody with that kind of money who wants to adopt," She signed to him, her hands moving furiously as she explained. It was interesting to see her sign, because her mind worked so much faster than her hands could and her body had to desperately try to keep up. "So as long as you don't learn how to completely talk before your eighteenth birthday, and pretend like you don't know how to read lips, you'll stay right here."

Yami had nodded his head, smiling at her. Even though she was sitting in a hospital bed, a patient no different than the ones she had tended for as long as she could remember, she was full of life and energy. She still had hope to fight against old age, but those who tended to her had seen a decline in health recently. She'd begun to grow weaker, and sickness was not as easy to overcome.

Yami had come to visit her every night after school, walking to the other wing of the hospital to spend time with her. She often made jokes about how the tables had turned, because it used to be her going to visit him. She told him stories about how she used to get off work and go straight to the room they had put him in, feed him a bottle and read him a story. That was, until he was two years old and they had realized that he wasn't responding to normal speech. She had been disappointed that her stories hadn't been heard, but that didn't deter her. No, she learned sign language instead and after four months of studying it, she began to pass along the stories that way.

Now, when she was old and her eyesight was not well enough to read the small print of the stories, he would for her. He would stand in front of her and sign it out word by word from the book, occasionally glancing up to make sure that she was still smiling. She always was, so he always continued.

Of course, these were not your average children's fairy tales. These were more dark and twisted, more realistic. Stories of, yes, magic, but also stories where the villain had just as much chance of winning as the hero did. Yami loved stories like that; the unpredictable danger of it all was so thrilling.

After a year of this routine, invariable, Yami noticed some small things beginning to happen. She smiled a little less, ate a little less, slept a little more. Her heart beat would become sporadic at random times before calming down, causing Yami to frown and pause in his storytelling. Her speech was slow and slurred- Yami could tell by the way her nurses had to concentrate to make out what she was saying and asked her to repeat herself several times. (Yami couldn't read lips much, but he'd known a couple of simple phrases since he was a boy. Just a couple of little things, despite his translator's determination to keep saying the words as she signed them to try and teach him the skill.) She was wearing thin, the time it took her to respond to anything was longer and longer. Yami was watching the woman who had been a mother to him slowly whither away, and there was nothing he could do to combat it. He felt so helpless.

One day, while he was there with her, she started coughing. He didn't notice at first, absorbed in signing out the story of 'Peter Pan', but he made the mistake of glancing up while she was in one of her fits. She was hunched over, her arms wrapped around her frail body and the light in her eyes dimming with every breath she was taking. Her shoulders heaved for a moment before finally settling down and sitting back, and Yami stared at her incredulously. He hadn't wanted to acknowledge what had just happened. So, with tears stinging his eyes, he blinked the wetness away and continued to read, knowing that it would be his last chance.

He still wasn't quite prepared for it when he came into her room the next day to find it empty. Confusion had flickered across his face only for a moment when he saw the folded blankets, the stony-faced nurse cleaning the sides of the bed with disinfectant. The rag moved over the bed, the sheets and walls pristine white, and Yami felt his eyes fill with tears again. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, and he knew that it was his translator, Rebecca. He closed his eyes and put his hand over his mouth, breathing a deep breath against the rising pain in his chest. Everything felt too overwhelming, too new, he could see no traces of the woman who raised him in the plain white room. Just like her, all proof she had been here had been gone. Gone.

Yami had gripped his translator's shoulders, turning around to bury his face in her hospital uniform. He couldn't see her, but he could feel the vibration as she consoled him, her voice and her hands slowly pushing down his hair in comfort. What he really wanted was to run, to push everything away, but he knew that wasn't healthy. So, he let her hold him. As long as he could stand it, he cried into her shoulder. It was almost dark outside by the time he stopped.

The world didn't feel quite right, moving on without her. It kept spinning and moving and turning round and round, and she wasn't there to see it. It hurt. Yami had half a mind to be angry at it for taking her away and having the nerve to keep spinning. Of course, they say anger is one of the five stages of grief. He supposed he was doing well, or at least as well as somebody in his situation could.

Then, the letter came. It was scrawled with shaky hands, on a scratch piece of paper, but it meant the world to him. He could tell that it had been done within the week of her death, and that made it special. It was from her, recently too. He grabbed it and inhaled the paper, smelling just the faintest hint of her old perfume on the worn page. He'd greedily reveled in the scent, proof that she'd been here, proof that he'd had her once. It took him ten minutes just to get around to reading the letter. It read;

'Dear Yami,

I can tell that I'm not as young as I once was. I'm sure you can tell too, you're deaf, not blind.' Yami chuckled at this. She tended to have what you would call a dark sense of humor. 'I wanted you to know that I love you more than anything. You aren't just my patient, you're my child. I wish I could be there to see the beautiful young man I know you're growing up to be. Sadly, I know that I can only last so long in this condition. You know me, I've always been a realist.

'The point of this letter is, you're just as entitled as my other children. I have written you into my will. Don't you even think for one minute about refusing it, you need it. Because I want you to have a choice in all of this.

'You have enough money now, you can go to a deaf college. You don't have to learn to speak and read lips if you don't want to. Do whatever you feel like. Either way, you have the ability to do whatever you wish now. Once you get out of high school and you're legal, you can choose your own path without the worry of the financial burden. Even if you don't want to use the money for college, you can use it for something. I believe that you'll make the right choice, whatever you decide to do.'

Underneath the writing was written instructions on how to access his inheritance. He blinked at the paper, his eyes full of tears, and he had to resist the urge to let out a very unmanly squeal. He didn't want to accept that she was gone. She just kept giving and giving, even in death she was giving.

Anna was probably the most beautiful person in the world to Yami. Now, she was gone.

Of course, that had been two years ago now. Yami had learned to move on and cope with what was happening, he'd learned to take what life would give him in most circumstances. He still got sad and still felt lonely sometimes, but he was learning to deal with it.

After all, he did live in a hospital, it was to be expected.

Most of his friends were temporary. Yami was friendly enough, he had plenty of casual acquaintances, but nobody really stuck around long enough to be a real companion. He never felt like he could truly open up to anyone but Anna, anyone else would have to communicate with him through the translator, and as much as he loved Rebecca, he didn't want her to know everything about his life. So, in most cases, none of his interactions got too personal. Most of his free time was spent watching television or browsing the computer, (boy was he happy he'd learned how to read when he found the internet) alone.

Yami ran a hand through his wild hair, deciding that he'd just let it go and deal with taming it at a later date. He tended to make this decision most days. His shoes felt a little loose as he stepped out the door, and was promptly greeted by one of the nurses signing hello. He smiled and signed it back, almost regretting that he couldn't have a full-blown conversation with her. The nurses knew most of what they knew by observing Yami and Rebecca's interactions, and a couple had taught themselves to spell words out. Yami couldn't remember if the nurse had been one who knew or not. Either way, spelling everything out would be annoying and he was going to be late to class soon.

Believe it or not, Yami attended class regularly. Since this hospital did take long-term patients, it offered schooling as an option to sick kids who were going to be there longer than a month. The teacher was equipped to handle all ages and grades, and she had been handling Yami's schooling ever since he was five years old and ready for Kindergarten. Of course, he had to teach himself a lot of things because the classes were small (never more than ten students at a time, never less than three) and she had to take care of varying ages and therefore didn't have a lot of time to explain things thoroughly. The good news was that being in a hospital class, the days were considerably shorter to account for kids being too weak to attend.

Of course, Yami had to witness a few of his friends die, and that was hard on him. It always took him by surprise, no matter how long it had dragged out or how hard the child had fought or how pale they had been the day before, he was always just the slightest bit caught off guard when the teacher, stony-faced and possibly having cheeks wet with tears, stood at the front and announced that a student would no longer be with them.

When a student graduated from their treatment and was ready to move back in with their parents, now that was the best. Yami had seen a lot of death, but he'd also seen a great deal of hope and healing through his years. Students who walked into the classroom with huge smiles on their faces to announce that they were cancer-free or strong enough to go home, who had fought their battle and stood victorious. Those days were filled with laughter and bittersweet goodbyes, sometimes happy tears and goofing off instead of getting work done. Those were days when parents would sweep their children, no matter how old, into their arms like they were weightless and profess how proud they were of them for being so strong. Beautiful days like that gave Yami hope.

Things were usually calm around the hospital- but it could be both uplifting and depressing, so it also had its days where it was loud. Yami stayed away from the emergency section as often as possible though, because that was the one section of the hospital that always seemed chaotic. It was a constant swarm of people and doctors and screaming and/or panicking family members, (which, by the way, Yami had learned did nothing but distract and deter the doctors from taking care of the patient in need) and you could very easily be run over by a stretcher or hospital bed just standing in the wrong area. He hated how nervous it made him to be there in the midst of the swirling sound and motion and unpredictability, so he preferred to stay in the regular wing if at all possible.

Of course, there were inevitable times when he had to venture down into the mayhem. For example, the best vending machines were down in the lobby, and Yami sometimes volunteered to do extra chores or file papers for some money. When he had done things like this, he had used it in various places- the gift shop, some stores down the road, (they were in a big city, so they had several stores within range) or his favorite, the vending machines. It was around the age of thirteen that he discovered his love of coffee.

Aaaah, Caffeine. He cherished the stuff like it was gold. It never failed to turn a bad day good and had the power to change his mood in a snap, especially if he didn't get much sleep the night before. The way the liquid clung to his taste buds and filled the area around him with its warm, rich scent was absolutely delightful.

Unfortunately, the only coffee dispenser in the entire building was down on the bottom floor, in none other than the ER's waiting room. Not only did he have to deal with feeling awkward getting coffee around the anxiety-ridden friends and family of those being taken there, but the waiting room had a clear view of the large double doors that patients often came through to receive treatment. So, if a new patient was to arrive, he would have to see the chaos and confusion and noise firsthand. Of course, it didn't bother him as much as it would a normal person. Again, Yami was raised around tragedy, he'd learned to adjust long ago.

Still, whenever he wasn't craving caffeine, he tended to avoid trips down there.

The off-white hallways were empty as he passed through them, odd for a hospital at eight o'clock in the morning. Typically the morning shift was hustling and bustling around, still energetic with very little time so far to drain it. However, the days had just started to get warm, (a welcome change from the usual freezing that they were previously receiving) and it appeared as if everybody was feeling the heat- it made everyone want to curl up and sleep the day away. He could tell that today was going to be a lazy day for everyone.

His steps increased, knowing that he would be late if he didn't hurry the heck up and get into the classroom. Not that the teacher would mind- Mrs. Cecelia (She preferred her students call her by her first name, since it was such a small class and they ended up knowing each other on such a personal level by the end of it all) didn't even scold him for being late like a public school teacher. He still wanted to be on time to class though, because if he was late to class he would probably be taught last, and he would have less time to complete his work. If he finished his work early enough, sometimes, Yami was permitted to go and help out with filing papers and talk to the nurses. Well, at least, the ones who knew sign language.

Yami passed through the waiting room, seeing a pair of anxious parents biting their nails and a couple of children playing with blocks on the floor. He increased his pace just a little bit more, seeing the clock and knowing that he was running late. He finally abandoned walking and broke out in a sprint towards the classroom, turning down the hallway and running with all his might. He panted from exertion, almost sliding right past the door when he tried to stop. He managed to come to a standstill just in time, slipping into the room just as the teacher was about to shut the doors and begin the lesson.

Mrs. Cecilia gave him a stern and slightly annoyed look as he slipped in, rolling her eyes at the student who always seemed to be a couple of seconds away from late. She wished that he'd take being on time more seriously than he did, but she knew that it was just an average school day, so she couldn't expect her students to always take it seriously. Besides, Yami was a good student. Perfect attendance for the past two years, in fact.

Yami plopped himself down into his seat, picking up his pencil and raising it to his mouth, running the eraser softly over his lips. He'd been chewed out (no pun intended) for biting his pencils too many times to count, but after an excruciating amount of time and effort trying to fix it, he had given up. Most people who had gotten on him about it had eventually gotten sick of telling him not to anyways, so there was no harm in it. Well, okay, technically it was a bad idea to put things in your mouth when you're at a hospital, but it wasn't like anybody sick had handled his pencil specifically. It would be fine, he was sure.

Another advantage of living in a hospital was the sickness. It sounded weird, but Yami had actually developed a killer immune system thanks to being exposed to everything on God's earth since he was born. The hospital staff always tried to keep things as clean as possible, (and usually, everything was a pristine clean) but they were only human. Things got missed, and Yami had gotten sick constantly when he had been little. As he had grown though, his body had adjusted to the constant onslaught and he'd developed an extremely strong immune system. Now, he was hardly ever sick beyond your common allergies, and for those, well... every medicine he could possibly need to treat himself was at the palm of his hand.

Cecelia walked back up to the front of the classroom, taking out a large textbook and flipping through it. Yami smiled when he noticed that it was his math book. Looks like he would get taught first after all.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" He asked, eying the book.

"We're doing lesson 7.4." She announced, setting the open book onto Yami's desk and grabbing a piece of paper. She used her pen to work out a couple of the problems, going step-by-step to show Yami how it was done. Yami vaguely paid attention, his mind wandering to the last episode of Supernatural. She tapped his book, snapping him out of his thoughts, and he grinned up at her.

"Sorry, I have some stuff on my mind." Yami announced with his hands, smiling just the slightest bit. She narrowed her eyes before sighing and shaking her head, a small smile in place herself.

"Whatever her name is, I'm sure she can wait until later." Cecelia teased. Yami stared at her blankly for a moment before his mouth fell open, finally registering what she had said. He immediately shook his head back and forth violently.

"No, it's not like that! I don't have interest in anyone right now." Yami said honestly. Really, he hadn't. In fact, Yami hadn't taken interest in anyone, ever.

Ever since Yami was little, he hadn't had any interest in girls (or boys) as anything other than playmates. He had plenty of friends, that wasn't the problem. In fact, there really wasn't a problem. While everybody else was focusing on the latest dating drama or pointing out who was cute and who was not, he had been content to just sit back and read or watch television. He never really saw the appeal of dating when you could get all the same things from companionship with someone just as a friend. Well, maybe not all the same things, but was kissing really worth all the drama? He could worry about that when he found somebody whom he knew he belonged with.

It wasn't like he was virgin lips, either. At a young age, one of the girls that was there for a simple blood test had come up for no particular reason and sat down, grabbing a piece of paper and drawing next to Yami. She had more talent than he did and he expressed the thought to her innocently, pointing to the sky and saying that the colors were especially pretty. She had misinterpreted his compliment as flirting and leaned forward faster than he could comprehend and smooched him. Before he even had a chance to react, the girl had been pulled back into the testing room and he'd never saw her again.

Several more instances like that had occurred over his lifetime, a couple of people going in for the kill and Yami being too nice to deny them. All of them had been girls who had just leaned in and kissed him without permission, and he could honestly say that there really wasn't anything that special about it. It was always awkward afterward and he never knew how to tell them that. Most of the time he never saw them again, (a lot of people came into the hospital and never came back) or he saw them very few times (a couple of the girls were admitted to the psychiatric ward, probably for the best if they went around kissing strangers all the time).

"Oh, sure you don't. Just tell me her name when you two make it official." Cecelia teased, winking. Yami never knew why she constantly insisted that he would be dating soon; she should have caught on by now. I mean, if a guy goes his whole life without a significant other, you'd think that people would realize by now that he either didn't want one or wasn't able to get one.

Not that Yami didn't acknowledge that his viewpoint could change if introduced to the right person. He just didn't see the drama of a relationship being worth it if he didn't know whether or not he wanted to be with a person forever or not. If he found somebody before then he thought was special enough to spend his life with, he would have already gone out with them.

He hadn't though, and he wished that people would stop bothering him about it.

Cecelia continued explaining the concept in vivid detail, pausing every once in awhile to make sure that he understood the concept before nodding and moving on. Yami stared blankly at his math book after she was gone, resisting the urge to groan as he looked at the twenty problems staring him down. He reluctantly picked up his pencil and began to work them, being careful not to make a mistake as he went along.

That was another good thing about being in a hospital's school. Due to the constant influx of students, there weren't many tests. Cecelia was only one person, so she couldn't design the curriculum for everything and keep up with things like that. She's go crazy with all the assignments she'd have to grade. Yami knew the concepts well enough; (it wasn't like he was going to be a rocket scientist, so he didn't have to preform without error). He knew that he'd have to adjust and such once he reached college, but for now he didn't have to deal with the extra pressure that excess testing put on students. It was something he was incredibly thankful for.

Yami slowly worked through the math problems, frustrated when he couldn't find the answer to one of them. He paused, biting his pencil as he thought. He finally gave up on that problem with a reluctant sigh, moving forward to try the next one.

He worried sometimes. He didn't have good interactions with people his age. As much as he tried most of the time to get along, he just didn't understand them sometimes. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had to talk to them through a translator so some things they typically would say don't get said, but he could honestly say he found most of them quite dull. Not that he found himself more interesting, that's not what we're saying here. Yami actually thought himself to be quite boring at times. But other students just seemed constantly obsessed with drama and the likes. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around most of the things they talked about.

Yami was a little odd in his tastes. While most kids preferred to listen to music (which, in case you haven't caught on by now, he can't do) or watch soap operas or play video games, he liked to read up on and study folklore and superstitions. One of the reasons he loved the show Supernatural so much was because he thought it was clever how they worked so much folklore and myth into the show while still maintaining a decent plot line. Yami also enjoyed most of the cast, because they seemed much more lighthearted than his fellow students.

Yami sighed, finally finishing the problem that he had been stuck on. He sighed in relief as he pushed the math away, watching Cecelia glance over and her eyes widening when she realized that he was done. Yami typically took longer than that to finish. She finished up teaching the second grader his five cursive letters for the day, (the state had taken it out of the curriculum, but she hadn't stopped teaching it yet because she found it useful herself) she walked back over to Yami to take out his English textbook and showed him what he should be doing.

The rest of the day went by in a blur after that. His work was fairly easy from then on out, and he finally reached his "elective" time. It was generally agreed upon that Yami's filing work could be counted as an elective, (and Cecelia had already gotten permission from the state to give him extra high school credits for it) so he was dismissed as soon as he was finished. He glanced at the clock and nodded in surprise.

His school work had only taken him four and a half hours so far today. Typically by the time he was done with all of his core classes (and art, his second elective) at least five hours had passed. Smiling a little to himself, he started walking again, towards the nurse's station.

He rounded a couple of hallways, passing some short-term patients that he knew and waving hello. He smiled broadly at the little girl who would get the news that her treatment was successful today. He smiled a little less broadly at the little boy who would find out he would probably never be able to walk. Some of the kids he didn't know anything about; others, he knew their files, illnesses, names, favorites, personalities, like the back of his hand. Yami liked kids for the most part. He didn't want one of his own, but they could be enjoyable.

He stepped back and into the door's scanner, watching as the doors opened automatically, detecting that somebody wanted through. He was hit in the face by a breath of cold air, and he smiled just a little bit. He was comfortable in the cold as well as the warm, but honestly he preferred it to be a little chilly.

"Yami! Hey, how are you doing?" Mai signed. Yami smiled broadly at her and walked forward, taking a seat in the open chair by the break room's table.

"I'm doing fine! How are you? How's your patient doing?" Yami asked.

Mai had taken up sign language herself as soon as she had learned about Yami. She had wanted to be able to communicate with him right away after talking to him. They had often seen each other in passing in the hallways and it frustrated her endlessly that they couldn't talk without a translator's assistance. So, a month after they met, Mai took a week off. Nobody was sure why, and Yami had missed her desperately while she was gone. She had turned out to be one of the few nurses that weren't prone to gossip and ridiculing others for her own amusement.

Yami had been afraid that she had gotten sick of the constant drama and was trying to find a new job. He was depressed the rest of that week, convinced that she wasn't coming back. It wouldn't be the first time a nurse had quit in under two months, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. However, she did come back.

Speaking fluent sign language.

Yami had ran up to her excitedly, dragging poor Rebecca as fast as she would go towards her. He'd thrown his twelve-year-old arms around her waist and she'd chuckled.

"I missed you." He signed happily. Mai laughed and nodded her head, putting up a finger when Rebecca started to talk. Rebecca abruptly stopped, tilting her head to the right in confusion, as Mai got down on one knee to be on Yami's level.

"I missed you too. Sorry I was gone for so long." She signed. Yami;s jaw dropped down, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Mai laughed, throwing her head back, her breasts bouncing lightly as she enjoyed his shocked expression. Yami shook his head in amazement, snapping out of the surprise that had previously gripped him.

"It's fine! You know sign language?" He signed, his hands slowing down. He knew how hard it was for a beginner to catch everything you were saying at first, so he knew that he had to go a little slower with her. She seemed to have no troubles understanding, though.

"I do now. Why did you think I took the week off?" She asked, giving him a small smirk. Yami smiled broadly. She had learned an entire language in the course of a week for him.

From that moment on, he and Mai Valentine had been best friends. They spent almost all their free time talking and going back and forth with witty banter. She had a couple of times in the beginning where she'd mess a word up or forget a word, but now Yami was convinced that she knew even more sign language than he did. She had actually talked to a couple other deaf kids who had come in, and most of them were incredibly surprised to find out that she was hearing. She looked so fluent and practiced in the way her hands moved, one would assume she had been taught from birth.

"Oh, Mokuba? He's doing fairly well, actually." Mai said, smiling just the faintest bit. Mokuba had been on the road to recovery now for two years, from an unknown disease he contracted from an unknown source. Nobody was quite sure how to go about treating the thing, so they had tried several different methods with little to no success. Every time he started responding to the treatment, whatever it was he had would evolve past that being able to kill it. Hearing that he was doing better was a treat; maybe this would finally be the medicine that worked on the poor boy?

Of course, they had the funding to try whatever they needed to if this didn't work out. Mokuba's older brother was the founder of Kaiba Corp, so he was constantly making donations to the hospital, ever since Mokuba had come here. He visited often, and most people knew to stay out of his way when he did. He was grumpy as hell and extremely overprotective, so nurses knew not to check up on Mokuba when he was around. One wrong face while they were injecting pain killers and Kaiba would be yelling at them that they needed to gain some competence. As a result, poor Mokuba had been tossed between nurses for the first year he was here, some claiming that they couldn't have the stress of having a patient with such... sensitive family.

Well, that is, until he got Mai. As soon as she had talked to him, she had fallen in love. At fourteen years old, Mokuba was a little doll baby and she LOVED to spoil him rotten. Which meant she took the best care of him so far, and that included barging right in on his and Kaiba's family time if it was time for Mokuba's next dose of medicine. She was the only nurse who had the guts to actually stand up to Kaiba and tell him he was being a "disrespectful twat", (she had told Mokuba to cover his ears before she said it, to which he whined out, "I'm fourteen, Mai!") and that if he thought he could do her job better than he should do it himself.

Mai had expected that Kaiba would have her fired after that; after all, he did have the influence to do so. Next time she saw him though, he was entirely silent and didn't comment on her performance with Mokuba. Later, when she was bringing him his lunch, he'd smiled and told her that his big brother was really impressed with her, and had requested that she be the only nurse allowed to touch Mokuba, and if she wasn't there then whoever she said to handle him handled him.

Under her care, Mokuba had gotten better than ever. He was even able to get up out of bed and come to classes a couple of times, instead of having a private tutor come to his room. Yami had always been especially kind to Mokuba when he could, knowing that he was under a great deal of stress and wanting to ease it in any way that he could. After that, Yami had actually started visiting Mokuba on occasion and would often play games with him. (Their visits slowly got more and more frequent, and eventually Yami considered Mokuba a brother).

Yami had learned to be really good at card games. They say when you lose one sense, your other ones improve. Well, Yami lost his hearing and gained a healthy amount of both intuition and observation. Most people you sat in front of him, he could read them like an open book. Therefore, he knew what actions to take and how to win in ninety-nine percent of all situations. He could tell when his opponent was bluffing.

In fact, the teasing nickname that his coworkers had given him was, "King of Games". Nobody dared to bet anything against him, but they all loved to dare each other to go and play against him in poker, monopoly, rummy, even go fish a couple of times. If it was playable, he would play it and most likely win.

"His new treatment is absolutely revolutionary. Not only that, but if this doesn't work out, they've found a kid with a similar case down in California who's responding very well to something we've not tried yet. They actually think he's going to make it through unhurt, and he's only been in the hospital for a year. So if this doesn't work out, we have something for him to fall back on." She signed. Yami nodded his head enthusiastically, smiling at her happiness. Mai was a tough girl, and she tried to act like she didn't care sometimes, but he knew better. Mai had a heart of gold.

"That's great for you Mai. Have you told his brother yet?" He asked. Mai nodded her head, reaching out to grab her coffee. Much to her disappointment, the cup came back light and empty. She frowned at the bottom, giving a deep sigh.

"No, I haven't told Kaiba yet. I want to see if the other kid really does get better and if this treatment will work for Mokuba. If it doesn't, then we'll talk about switching. For now though, I don't see any reason to switch and put his body under even more stress than necessary." She said, smiling just the smallest bit. Yami was happy for her too. It had been quite awhile since he'd seen her so enthusiastic that something was going to work for Mokuba. It made him wonder himself if they might have finally found something that would work for him. Maybe then his dick big brother would lighten up a little and stop being so rude to the nurses.

"That's smart. He might want to jump into something too soon, and that could be a fatal mistake." Yami signed back, nodding his head. He'd seen enough parents flipping out over why the doctors weren't immediately trying things; they needed to proceed with caution in any situation. Some family members got frustrated at the doctors just for doing their jobs.

"Hey Yami," Mai said, grabbing her empty coffee cup and handing it off to him. He had no way to respond since his hands were full, so she continued, "Do you think you could go and get me a refill on a french vanilla latte from the machine in the ER?"

Yami groaned, (or at least he was pretty sure that was the sound that he made; that's what he was trying for) giving a sigh. He knew that he couldn't deny Mai, so he just simply nodded and turned on his heel, holding up one hand and signing a simple, "Yes."

He walked down the nearest flight of stairs, knowing that he needed exercise anyways and didn't have the patience to wait by the elevator. His footsteps made light padding sounds against the concrete as he galloped down the stairs, passing a nurse holding a bunch of towels. He finally came out downstairs just a couple of hallways down from the ER and started down towards it.

As much as he hated it here, he had to admit that it smelled like absolute heaven. He could almost taste the French vanilla from here, and he reached into his back pocket to take out some money. Looks like he would be walking back with one more cup than he expected.

He came around the corner and into the waiting room, biting his lip as he saw a young mother pacing the floor anxiously. He moved right on past, keeping is eyes glued to the floor. He walked over to the coffee machine and put the two cups down, Mai's under the spout first. He put in the money and pushed the button, watching as it slowly filled up with the warm liquid. He breathed in through his nose, letting the wonderful scent make his mouth water in want. He shook his head and snapped himself out of it, switching the cups and filling his own to the brim. The outsides of the cups burnt his hands slightly as he picked them up, but he was used to it by now.

He turned around to find the ER in an almost frenzy. There were three nurses crowded around a bed that had been wheeled in, a couple of them looked a little sick. Two more beds were rolled in after that, and Yami looked out the doors to see some ambulances parked outside. He frowned as he saw the doctor look for a pulse on one of the bodies and then check his watch before declaring a time of death. He quickly moved around to the other bed before frowning and doing the same. Yami shook his head sadly; the third was most likely dead by now too, that was usually how these things worked.

The doctor warily moved to the smaller bed, a small teenager who's eyes were closed. His skin looked especially pale against the red blood coming from a wound in his head, and his hair was matted with the thick red liquid. Yami could smell the rusty scent from here.

The doctor placed a gloved hand on the young boy's neck and his eyes widened in surprise before he nodded to some nurses, gesturing frantically towards down the hallway. They nodded and the bed was wheeled away, Yami just barely catching another glimpse of amethyst-tipped hair, not far off from his crimson-tipped do. He frowned when the boy was gone; he had probably just lost two people who were very close to him, and Yami could tell he would be in a lot of pain when he woke up. Yami wasn't sure why he cared, but he did. He didn't know why, but the boy seemed... significant, somehow.

He had no clue just how right he was.

Yami shrugged and continued about his business, trying to clear his mind of the bloody scene. He'd have to remember to ask about that boy later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE review.  
> Also note that this is posted several different places. If the username is mystic something or other it's probably me. If not, contact me immediately, or contact the holder of the account to which it is published. Thank you.


	3. The New Kid in Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks so much for being interested in the story so far. More comments would be appreciated. Again, head on over to DA and check out Kafae-Latte if you like <3

Chapter 2:

The New Kid in Town

It was two weeks later before Yami would see him again. He had eventually stopped thinking about him, deciding it was best not to ask in case something bad _did_ happen. He'd honestly rather not know about things like that.

Yami walked down the stairs again, forgoing the elevator in attempt to be on time. He'd gotten up early this morning to go and eat breakfast with Mai, so he needed to hurry up and get there or else he'd end up being late for school as well. He couldn't have that happening; Mrs. Cecelia was only so forgiving when it came to tardies, and he'd already gotten two this semester. He didn't want to be stuck cleaning the windows in the classroom or scrubbing the classroom floors after school.

He rounded the corner to the lunch room, his eyes eagerly scanning the crowd as he looked for his friend. Finally, Mai spotted him and started waving, and he was able to spot her in the sea of people. He smiled and walked briskly over to where she sat, pulling out the seat across from her at the two-person table they now shared.

“How did you sleep last night?” She asked. Yami snorted.

“Sleep is for the weak.” He teased. Mai rolled her eyes and made a dismissive gesture, clearly telling him to go and get food. He smiled at her and grabbed his plate, walking off to do as she said and get the breakfast he was eager for.

He scanned the lines, letting the scent of warm food caress his senses as he tried to pick something out. He really wanted a cinnamon roll, but he knew he'd never eat all of the giant ones the hospital made in the morning and he didn't want his breakfast to be too expensive. He was hoping that after school today he could talk Mai into going with him to Starbucks on her break to get some real coffee, and the cinnamon roll would drain his finances.

Yami shrugged and picked up a Poptart instead, deciding that it would be better to save and knowing that most of the cinnamon roll would probably go to waste anyways. He picked it up off the line and walked over to the register, handing the woman his money before walking back to the table and plopping it down.

“So, how are you?” Mai asked. Yami opened up his Poptart before responding.

“I'm doing good.” Yami signed back, smiling. “How about you?”

“I got a dog.” She said, smiling broadly. Yami's jaw opened just a little bit. She'd wanted a dog for the past few years, and hadn't had the time or resources to have one. He guessed that she'd finally gotten sick of waiting and decided to make the time. “Do you want to help me name her?”

“Wait, slow down. How did you get the dog?” Yami asked. He wanted to hear the whole story before they started talking names.

“Well, you know how I was wanting to go back to school to get a higher degree so I could be a doctor instead of a nurse?” Mai asked. Yami nodded his head. “Well, I found out that I had to do some charity work to make my application look better.” She announced. Yami nodded his head. He was getting the gist of where this was going.

She launched into a story about how she had started volunteering for the animal shelter and fell in love with a little mutt puppy that had soft brown eyes and a golden-white coat. Yami watched her tell the story with vague interest as she described the puppy vividly, and he was again impressed with her extensive vocabulary. He nodded his head to show her that he was still watching and comprehending, but his mind was a little floaty that morning.

When he stopped paying attention was when the doors opened to reveal a boy about his age, maybe a year or two younger. He had softly spiked hair with violet tips/ and pale white skin. He was wearing some leather pants and a shirt that fit is lithe form, and his eyes were closed. Someone was leading him over towards a table, and they had a firm hand on his shoulder. Not once in walking did he open his eyes.

“Mai, Mai,” Yami signed excitedly, his eyes shifting back to her. She paused, (presumably mid-sentence, Yami hadn't been paying attention) and put down her hands, head tilting to the side. “Who is that patient?” He asked, gesturing towards Yuugi. If he wasn't mistaken, that was the young boy that he had seen in the emergency room a couple of weeks ago. He had some bandages on his head in around the same places, so it was plausible. It was hard to tell, though. It would be hard to recognize him with all the blood.

“Have you even been paying attention to my story?” Mai asked, pouting. “Really Yami, that's rude.” She said, crossing her arms. Yami rolled his eyes and gestured frantically towards Yuugi.

“Okay, fine.” Mai grumbled, turning around. She didn't sign it, but Yami could read her lips well enough to get that much. Her eyes widened as she assessed the small boy, her head tilting to the side just a bit as he picked up his fork and attempted to stab some carrots, growling as he missed. She turned back to Yami and raised an eyebrow. “The boy in the car crash who went blind?”

Yami shook his head back and forth before raising his hands to respond. “I saw him come in and he looked hurt bad. Were those his parents that died?” He asked. Mai's eyes flickered with emotion before she steeled herself again, shaking her head in confirmation. Yami's eyes flickered back to him and he frowned. He knew what it was like to lose a mother; he felt a little sorry for him. “Why are his eyes closed?”

“You really need to pay attention. I already told you, he went blind in the crash.” She signed back. Yami shook his head, his eyes darting back to where he sit.

“So, how much longer is he going to be here?” He questioned. He wasn't sure _why_ he felt so curious over the young boy, he just... Well, he couldn't explain it. Maybe it was because they looked alike? No, that couldn't be it.

They didn't _really_ look alike. Not enough to justify this level of curiosity. Yami was three or four inches taller, his features more angular, his eyes were slanted and he had some muscle tone. The other boy was more petite, softer around the edges, he looked more approachable than Yami did. He wore a face made to beam up at someone. Really the only things that were the same about them was their fashion sense and the shape of their hair. The rest was night and day.

“Why do you want to know? We aren't getting a little crush now, are we?” Mai asked playfully, reaching out to nudge him. Yami felt his cheeks turn crimson at the mention and he shook his head no fiercely, clearing his throat a little without even realizing he was doing it. Mai chuckled at his reaction before giving in and telling him what was happening. “Well, he's blind. We can't trace back any kind of family other than his parents, and he said he didn't have any other family left. We can't put him in a foster home until he's at the very least learned braille and how to walk with a cane, and he's already sixteen. So essentially, right now, it's about your situation. He could be in here for quite awhile if nobody steps up as family.” She signed.

“So he's going to start attending school with us?” He asked, intrigued now. If he was going to be a long term patient, then he was probably going to be in class with Yami. Maybe Yami could talk to him some.

“Yeah, today actually. They wanted to give him some more time to recover and get used to everything, but he insisted that he'd already adjusted. He's a tough kid.” Mai said, looking over. “He wanted to start learning braille as soon as possible. The doctors still haven't let the nurses know why he went blind yet.”

“That doesn't sound very promising. What's his name?” Yami asked. Mai turned to him with a mischievous smile.

“Why don't we go and find out?” She asked, winking. Yami was about to object when she got up out of her seat and turned towards Yuugi. She could no longer see his hands frantically insisting that it was okay and he would meet the newcomer later, and she trudged forward through the crowd towards where the young boy sat. Yami rose and quickly wove through the tables after her, seeing no other option. When Mai was determined to make something happen, it was going to happen one way or another.

Yami caught up right as she reached the young boy's table, and he was panting from the effort of weaving through the crowd. People parted like the red sea for Mai, while he had a bit of a less commanding presence. He preferred to stick to the shadows and subtlety was his middle name. People respected him, but only after he was forced to exert his power. People respected Mai instantaneously.

Yami watched Mai's mouth move, but he didn't focus on making out the words she was saying(not that he could make out much t this point even if he did try). He watched as the boy nodded his head and responded to her curtly. Mai turned to Yami and opened her mouth for a second before pausing and sheepishly lifting up her hands, almost forgetting for a moment that he couldn't understand her.

“What did you say to him?” Yami demanded. Mai rolled her eyes.

“Relax, I just told him that you were a deaf classmate of his and that you wanted to know his name. By the way, it's Yuugi, in case you're wondering.” She said, shaking her head.

Yami paused. 'Yuugi'. It seemed fitting, light and sweet for somebody who looked light and sweet. “Yuugi? Isn't that Japanese for game?” He asked, faintly recalling hearing something like that once. He knew a little bit of Japanese thanks to the fact that his own name meant 'Darkness', something that could be fitting if someone did something foolish.

Yami was sweet and gentle and kind, but he wouldn't hesitate to change that if you did something that he didn't think was right. He'd had many rich or arrogant douche bags come in here to visit dead or dying family and be completely rude to the staff. The few times that had happened, he'd stood up for them, (admittedly making Rebecca a little uncomfortable translating what he said to the men) often ending up with the snooty person put in their place. Now there had been a couple of times where he'd taken them on in a game to prove their lack of intelligence, but he'd always prevailed in the end. Honestly, he had no clue how the games started, they just _did._ It seemed like games seemed to follow him wherever he went, and now it was happening again.

Of course, 'Game' had never been an actual person before.

Mai turned back to Yuugi and asked him the question, to which Yuugi nodded his head and turned towards the sound of her voice, smiling just the smallest bit. Yami waited eagerly for his answer.

“He said that it does stand for game, his grandfather was Japanese and owned a game shop, so they decided to name him after that.” Mai clarified, waiting for an answer from Yami.

“That's neat. Tell him that I love to play games.” Yami said. Mai nodded her head and turned to Yuugi again, almost accidentally signing his answer back. She growled in frustration and glared at Yami playfully, giving a dramatic sigh before she opened her mouth and started talking. Yami smiled at her blunder; Rebecca had had the same trouble with going back and forth when she first started translating too. Speaking of Rebecca...

She came stumbling into the breakfast area, her bag slung lazily over her shoulder as she scanned the crowd. She spotted Yami and he waved happily, starting to practically prance over to the group. She smiled broadly and grabbed a seat, sitting down at Yuugi's table and listening to Mai's translating. Actually, Yami hadn't noticed it before, but Mai was taking an awful long time just to translate what he had said...

“What is she saying?” Yami asked Rebecca. Rebecca smiled sheepishly.

“I figured you hadn't had a hand in getting her to say all this. She's ranting about how good you are at playing games. She's also professing how modest you are and not to listen if you try and tell him otherwise.” Rebecca said, laughing a little. Yami blushed, burying his face in his hands a moment before lifting it up so he could sign again.

“Will you please tell him that she's over exaggerating?” Yami asked, shaking his head. He loved Mai to death, but sometimes she really needed to know when it was and wasn't okay to go on about a person. Yami got embarrassed easily when somebody talked about his skill.

Rebecca went ahead and cut in, presumably saying what he had insisted to the small boy. He shook his head, a smile appearing on his face as he responded to Rebecca.

“Well, he said that you sounded wonderful and he used to love games. You know what? Maybe you two could play something sometime, we do have those braille playing cards. It would be a good exercise for him once he starts learning, and you two could have fun together. Want me to run the idea past him?” Mai suggested, her eyes shining with mischief and happiness. Yami shook his head yes. He'd played go fish with a couple of the blind kids before, placing their hands delicately over the number that he wanted to ask if they had before they would shake their heads yes or no, mouthing the number that they wanted to ask him if he had. Again, Yami didn't know much lip reading, but he did know the numbers.

Mai turned to Yuugi and they spoke for a few minutes. Yuugi's smile grew wider as he heard what she said, and he wiggled in his seat a little in excitement. Yami fought against the urge to call it cute. He was a seventeen year old boy for crying out loud, nothing should make him want to go 'awww!' like he'd just gotten the urge to.

“He said that he'd love that. It'll probably take a few weeks for him to learn braille, but he'd actually been afraid that he'd never be able to play card games again after everything. It was one of the things that made him the most upset. He has to warn you that he may give you a run for your title though; apparently, he's one of the best gamers around.” Mai said, before turning to Rebecca and saying something. Yuugi nodded his head in agreement and Yami felt a little left out of the loop, but he decided not to comment.

“Tell him that he's on. Nobody threatens my title and gets away with it.” He teased. “Though he shouldn't know about my title anyways.” He added, glaring at Mai for revealing that little tidbit. Mai laughed a little and shrugged as if to say, 'what-can-you-do?' before she turned and translated what Yami had said. Yuugi was smiling like a kid on Christmas morning.

“He said okay. I think you two had both better get to class before somebody gets his third tardy.” Mai signed, looking at Yami with a eyebrow raised. Yami rolled his eyes and nodded his head.

“Okay, tell him I'll see him around. I have to go and grab my poptart, I didn't get to eat yet.” Yami signed before turning back to the table and running to go and grab his food. He grabbed the package and turned on his heel, trying to weave in and out of the crowd in attempt to be on time. He was barely able to succeed in getting out alive; he almost got tripped three times and had to duck several times to avoid running into people's arms. He figured that Yuugi's assistant would give him an excuse to be late, so he didn't even check to see if he had gotten up yet.

Yami rounded a corner and threw open the door to the steps, taking a large bite of his chocolate poptart before he started up the stairs. He breathed through his nose so that he wouldn't choke, running as fast as he could to make it up the five flights of stairs in time. He passed a couple of cleaning ladies who just shook their heads, by now used to the routine of Yami tearing through hallways and staircases around this time every morning. He waved as he passed them by.

Finally he was on his proper floor, and he exploded into the classroom right as Cecelia was about to close the doors again. She shook her head for a moment before she just sighed and brought out a large textbook, slamming it down onto his desk. Yami smiled broadly as she flipped it open to the page containing his lesson for the day.

As soon as she was finished explaining through a mixture of writing things down and signing out what he should do, the door opened again. Her head snapped up and she smiled broadly. Yami turned just the slightest bit to see that Yuugi was standing in the doorway, followed by his own nurse. He felt the smallest smile creep up on his face too as Cecelia walked over to him and introduced herself.

He watched for only a moment longer before he shook his head, snapping himself out of it. He needed to concentrate on doing his work, not on what was going on around him. He turned back towards his homework and steeled himself to completing the problem set before him.

He got distracted a couple of times, but soon enough he was done with the worksheet. Having nothing to do but wait around for the teacher to come and give him his next assignment, he started to doodle on the side of his paper. That couldn't entertain him for long, though. Soon enough, he found his eyes shifting back to where Yuugi was sitting in the back of the room, his hands steadily running across a piece of paper as Cecelia spoke to him. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion as he moved, his mouth pursing in the slightest way. Yami caught himself staring and abruptly turned away, trying to focus on his own work.

He grabbed his pencil again, picking it up and staring down at the paper for a solid minute before he realized that he didn't have anything else to do for the moment. He let out a huff and let his head fall onto his desk lazily.

Why was he so fascinated with the new student? Was it because he was in the same position as himself now? Was it because he seemed to be kind? Was it because he wanted to have a friend his own age? No, none of those explanations took into consideration the pull he felt towards the other. He wanted to learn everything about him; and Yami had no clue why. It intrigued him to no end.

Of course, he'd heard of things like this happening, it had just never happened to him before. Some people would glance at a person and get the craving to know everything about them, like they needed to breathe, they needed to know. It was random and sometimes led to getting chewed out by some pretentious person who thought they were too good to talk to strangers, but sometimes it lead to truly heartwarming friendships and the possibility of a life long bond.

Yami wondered if Yuugi would push him away if he tried to get close. He didn't seem like the type to be rude or snappy, but... Well, even if he would start to open up, how could they talk? There was a huge communication barrier; Yami couldn't talk to Yuugi without a translator. He knew that no matter how close he felt to a person, he still wouldn't relay personal information through someone else. Well, maybe Mai, but that was because they were close enough for her to know most of his secrets anyways. A complete stranger though, (which is what everyone who could translate for them was right now would be to Yuugi) Yami couldn't expect Yuugi to speak through them.

So how could they get to know each other?

Yami pondered for a minute longer, his foot lightly tapping against the ground. He couldn't think of any way they could talk right now, but he was sure something would come to him eventually.

Just then, Yami felt a hand gently graze his shoulder as Mrs. Cecelia walked by him, stopping to look at his problem set so far and nod her head in encouragement. She then shut his math book and reached down behind her desk to grab his English, dragging it over and opening to a unit on speeches. Yami watched with vague interest as she described his project to him, letting him know what would be expected.

Yami had to write and perform a speech on any given topic, as long as there was a thesis and support for his opinion, he could write about whatever he wanted. He would have to give this at the end of the year, so he knew he had plenty of time. She explained that she just wanted him to get his outline done today, and then he was free to go and do whatever he pleased. Yami sat up a little straighter.

“What? Why?” He signed. Cecelia almost never let him out early, save special occasions.

“Honesty I don't have the time in the day to handle everyone right now. That's why I'm making you do the entire outline; it's more work than would typically be scheduled in an English day, and we'll pick up some extra microbiology tomorrow to make up for missing that, and you're ahead in AP gov. anyway. Plus, a little extra elective time couldn't hurt, could it?” She asked, winking. Yami nodded his head and thanked her, which she waved off and told him to have fun. He nodded his head.

It only took him half an hour to finish his outline. As soon as he was done he ran out of the classroom, taking a turn to go and find Mai. She should be working with Mokuba right now; maybe he would get lucky and the three of them would have enough time to play go fish.

He walked briskly through the hallways, his feet making little clopping sounds that he couldn't hear. He walked past a couple of rooms, smiling to himself as he thought. He walked along until he finally reached the room where Mokuba was settled and knocked softly on the door.

He waited for a moment, eagerly peering through the small glass window, before Mai appeared and opened it up. He figured that she had already called out, 'it's open!' before she had checked, but he didn't want to take the risk of walking in on something embarrassing for Mokuba. He knew that Mokuba would write it off, but some of those treatments they had done were pretty personal, and he wanted to make sure that Mokuba had his privacy.

Mai smiled a winning smile as she ushered Yami in, smacking his butt playfully as he walked by. He turned around and glared at her, blushing slightly.

“I'm a minor you know!” He signed snappily. She chuckled deeply and rolled her eyes.

“I've known you since you were twelve; believe me when I say you're a brother to me.” She responded, giving a small wink. “Plus, I just can't resist.”

“You're going to scar Mokuba.” Yami signed, to which Mokuba huffed.

“I'm _still_ fourteen years old.” Mokuba signed. Yami smiled broadly.

“You're making progress.” He commented. Mokuba beamed up at him.

“He's been practicing.” Mai informed Yami.

Mokuba, after watching Yami and Mai interact for six months, had started to catch on already to many of the signs. Of course, it was a surprise to both of them when he jumped right into one of their conversations, commenting on how nice the weather had been and how happy he was to be on the road to recovery. They had both froze entirely, looking at Mokuba for a second before slowly turning towards each other and blinking, too shocked to react for a moment.

“How long have you been able to understand us?” Mai finally asked, breaking out of her trance first. Mokuba smiled broadly.

“I started being able to make out some sentences around two months ago. I don't know _that_ much, but I want to learn.” He said out loud, not knowing all of the signs to say it with his hands. Mai turned to Yami and quickly translated.

Ever since then, the three of them had talked time and time again. Mokuba would always speak as he signed, just to make sure that he was getting the words right, and Mai would correct him if he made a mistake. He had grown to be incredibly good since then, and he could say almost anything he needed to.

“So, Mai,” Yami said, pausing for a moment, glancing at Mokuba, “Do you want to go and get coffee later? Off campus?” He offered. Mokuba perked up.

“If you do, will you bring me back a doughnut?” He asked excitedly. Yami chuckled and shook his head. He had a little extra money on him, he could afford a little bit of a splurge for his friend. Mokuba smiled broadly, the promise of the treat making him eager.

“Of course I want to hang out, Yami. The Starbucks across the street?” She offered. Yami shook his head, smiling.

“I need to go and get some filing done now so I'll have some money put back, but I'll meet you outside in three hours. That is when you're off tonight, right?” He clarified. He had came with the intentions to stay for a game of go fish, but he hadn't thought through the fact that it would be smarter to go ahead and get some more hours in. One advantage of living in the workplace; he got to choose when he worked.

“Of course, it's a Friday. I'll see you then.” Mai said, waving him off. Yami left then, headed towards the office where he sorted and filed and found files for doctors who needed them.

Three hours later, Yami walked outside, feeling the cold air hit his face. He gave a shiver, wishing he had grabbed his jacket or worn his “School Uniform”, (which was the nickname he had given to some of his more formal clothing) before stepping out. He rubbed his bare arms in the February weather, wishing for something to ease his shivering, until he finally spotted Mai standing over near the bus bench. He smiled a warm smile before he walked over to her, eager to go across the street.

He tapped her arm lightly to get her attention. “We should go now, I'm going to get frostbite.”

“That's your own fault.” Mai scolded, rolling her eyes. “You're the only person I know that's stupid enough not to wear a jacket in the middle of winter, a New York winter no less.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, could we please just go to the coffee shop already? I'm gonna catch a major cold and you're gonna regret leaving me out here to suffer.” He tried. Mai smiled just the smallest bit and turned on her heel, headed towards the coffee shop across the street.

They walked through the wooden doors, the wave of warmth going over their heads as they entered. Yami breathed out a sigh of relief as he warmed up, breathing in the rich scents of caramel and chocolate and coffee beans. He wished they had a candle that could smell _exactly_ like this coffee shop, but it was impossible to mimic exactly. He breathed out again, letting the tension drain from his body and giving Mai a smile.

Most Starbucks were filled with pretentious white girls in Ugg boots trying to get pictures for Instagram, but this one was different. This one was filled with college kids studying and friendly workers and fifty year old people playing chess at a table in the back. (Yami had actually beaten them a couple of times). This coffee shop felt like a part of Yami's childhood.

Yami walked a couple of feet over to the nearest table and sat down, pulling out a chair for Mai to sit in next to him. She sat down and they waited for a moment until Mai offered to go up and get their coffee and Yami handed her the money to go. Mai grabbed it and set it down to clarify what he wanted, (a chocolate-covered strawberry frappe, and yes, he _would_ kill her for telling anyone that he drank coffee that sounded so girly) before she ran off to the counter to order.

Yami gave a sigh, looking out the window at the passing people. There were so many, young and old, tourists and locals, a few of the faces just a little too familiar to deny that he'd probably seen them in passing before. He watched as the clouds outside began to gather, darkening just the slightest bit in color, swirling like they were dancing in the chaotic winds high above. He closed his eyes, missing the first of the flakes begin to slowly waltz down, but knowing all the same that they were there. Six months until his eighteenth birthday, six months until he would move out.

He could honestly say that he was going to miss the hospital more than anything, but he was also excited for gaining his own footing. He felt like he'd been dependent upon the hospital staff for too long, and he was eager to prove himself to the world. He wanted to be independent, make his own choices, and provide for himself. Maybe it was just his age, but he felt like the sooner he was out, the sooner that his life would start.

Then again, he was sad. The hospital staff was his family. Not only that, but he would have to move across the country to find a good college that taught exclusively deaf. Okay, so maybe not across the country, he hadn't looked into it yet, but still. He couldn't imagine that there would be one close enough for him to visit as often as he'd like. He'd be leaving behind the only home he ever knew, and he didn't even know what he wanted to be yet. Should he even be thinking about college?

Then again, there was a nice school a couple of blocks down from the hospital. It was a large university with cheap dorm rooms, and it had a wide array of income-based classes. Yami had read online that it was an incredibly prestigious establishment with a large percentage of graduation compared to other colleges, and that it was actually known for adapting to kids with special needs or that needed a little extra help in school. Yami's teachers would be told to face him directly while they said anything important, so that he would be insured to get all of the learning experience the other students had. Well, I mean, if he could read lips.

Yami gave a small frown. He had so many paths laid out before him, so many choices that he'd have to decide between, and six months really did not seen like enough time to get everything worked out. He gave a deep sigh and put his head in his hands, trying not to think about it for now. Contemplating life and realizing that you're on a downward spiral destined to fail and get things wrong a million times before you get things right was for laying awake in your bed at two o'clock in the morning.

His head popped up as he felt the nudge of a cold cup on his bare skin, and he saw Mai place his cup in front of him. He smiled the smallest smiles and thanked her before he picked it up and drew it to his lips, taking a sip and then chewing the little chunks of chocolate and ice before swallowing. Mai leaned forward to take a sip of her own drink, and a brief silence passed between them.

Finally, Mai set down her drink, her eyes sparkling with their usual mischief.

“So, the way you looked at the new boy today was pretty... _interesting._ ” She signed, raising her eyebrows. Yami paused, putting down his drink for a moment and trying to figure out what she was implying.

“What do you mean?” He finally asked, not seeing why she was acting like this. Mai let out a laugh before shaking her head and giving a sigh.

“I mean, you like him.” She said, mischief glistening in her eyes. Yami just sat there for a moment.

“Of course I like him, he's never given me a reason not to.” Yami said dismissively, missing the picture. Mai just raised her eyebrows higher.

It took Yami a moment to realize that she hadn't meant it like that. His face heated up slowly as he came to the realization, and he shook his head back and forth adamantly. “NO, NO, not like that!” He signed frantically. Mai threw her head back and let out an even louder laugh, (Yami assumed) drawing the attention of several other people in the small place. He sunk down into his chair and resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands again.

“You're lying through your teeth, you were interested. Honestly Yami, I was wondering why you were never staring at girls or ogling my boobs.” Mai teased, fluffing up her chest. Yami's face got even darker at that and he shook his head no again.

“I never said I was gay! I'm not gay!” He said. Mai was still smiling as his argument died and he rested his elbows on the table in defeat, taking another sip of his coffee in the mean time.

Yami thought for a moment. Well... _Was_ he gay? He'd never really had any attraction to anyone before, he was more focused on just living his life and getting through the day. When he tried to think about having a girlfriend or getting married, it had always seemed like a distant idea for the distant future, something to be thought about when he was older and ready for that kind of commitment. Could he see himself in a picket-fence house, a wife with dinner on the table, rug rats running all around?

Well, no, honestly. He never thought of himself as one for the traditional lifestyle anyways, but the idea of settling down and marrying a woman seemed ludicrous. He'd always just told himself that the want to have a girlfriend would come later in life, always given himself the excuse that he was waiting until it would be less drama, excuse after excuse for why he couldn't see himself with a pretty girl on his arm. He shook his head, chasing the thoughts away for now. Stupid Mai, he had enough to think about right now.

“Well, okay then. Maybe you're bi?” Mai questioned. Yami hesitated before shaking his head again. He'd think about this later. Mai knew though, he could tell that she had caught his slight hesitation when he said no. This subject wouldn't be dropped, and he honestly had no clue how to address it.

Didn't people who were gay just have some all-knowing _sense_ that they were supposed to be different or something? Wasn't there something deep inside of them that would help them just feel that being with somebody of the same sex was right? Yami looked deep inside himself and all he saw was a big ball of swirling confusion and... Well, honestly, uncertainty. Ugh, why couldn't his life just be simple?

“I- Mai, I've never liked anyone before. Just because I looked at the new guy funny doesn't mean I want to kiss him.” Yami defended. _You just want to learn things about him and spend time with him for reasons that you literally can't explain to yourself._ His own mind tagged on. He would have growled out loud if not for the fact that Mai would have then known of his raging internal battle.

“Okay.” She relented, seeing that the conversation was making Yami uncomfortable, “If you ever feel like you need somebody to talk to about stuff though, you can come to me. I'm actually bisexual, so I could help you to figure stuff out. I know how hard it was for me.” Mai admitted, reaching out to brush Yami's hand. There was sympathy in her eyes, and for once, Yami could tell that she was actually serious. He nodded his head and went back to take a large swig of his coffee, trying not to concentrate too hard on everything.

After the initial panic of “Oh god, am I?” was over, Yami felt it replaced by an odd form of curiosity. He'd been raised to accept himself for who he was no matter what, that things like this didn't really matter about a person, but that didn't mean he wasn't still wary of the idea. He had seen some of the cruelty the world had inflicted on people just for being different, so he was reluctant to accept something that big about himself. He thought; had he ever really _looked_ at somebody else's body?

The answer he reached, after careful deliberation, was no. He hadn't. He'd been raised to respect the boundaries of others, and that included not looking at somebody or making them uncomfortable. So, he honestly had no clue what he preferred. Maybe he should start?

He peered out the street, not even thinking about starting with Mai. She was like a sister to him, not being attracted to her wouldn't prove anything. He looked, scanned, tried to find something that he was attracted to. He saw a woman with a pair of large breast implants walk by, (no thank you) quickly followed by a boy a couple years older than him, too buff and with floppy blonde hair (Yami did NOT want to be greeted by 'What's up, dude?') and bright blue eyes. He gave a small frown as he turned back towards his coffee again. Maybe he could just create a fictional person with all the attributes he liked?

Nope, he wasn't going to do that. He didn't even know what he liked besides soft skin and a nice personality. This was all so confusing for him, why did Mai have to bring this up?!

He thought next about physical touch. He hadn't been disgusted by a girl's touch, never. He hadn't been thrilled by it or overjoyed, but he certainly hadn't _hated_ it. He had about the same indifference towards his male classmates, so there was really nothing to compare it with, though. He didn't hate it when girls kissed him, but there wasn't that spark everyone always talked about, and he didn't crave it at all. Not that he craved to kiss a boy, but, well...

Yami shook his head. He'd definitely have to find a way to run some experiments if he ever found his sexuality relevant. He shook his head and tried to focus on the conversation he was having with Mai, smiling like he'd been listening the entire time. She looked at him quizzically for a moment before she just continued on telling him about how hard she was trying to potty train her new puppy.

“I mean, I saw her in the shelter and it was love at first sight. The manager asked if I wanted to keep her and I told her yeah, but I couldn't afford the adoption fees right now because every penny I save was going towards college.” (Mai already had a nursing degree, but eventually wanted to go fir a doctorate.) “She was actually nice enough to wave the adoption fees as long as I promised to give the poor little girl a nice, loving home, and now here we are! I love her so much Yami. Today she peed all over the carpet though, which is going to be a serious issue. Do you have any idea how to potty train a dog? I looked stuff up online, but I don't know how effective any of it is and honestly none of it's gonna work fast enough.” Mai complained. “And don't think for a second I'm getting rid of her, she's precious.”

“You could try using those puppy pads for now. If you see him start to go, pick him up and take him outside. Eventually he'll get to where he likes it better, and he'll start _wanting_ to go outside. Hey, don't you think we should probably get that doughnut for Mokuba and go now? It looks like the snow is getting worse.” Yami said, frowning as he glanced at his still uncovered arms. Mai rolled her eyes before hopping up.

“Okay, but next time wear a jacket. You're gonna get sick.” She said, shaking her head. Yami smiled and got up from the table too, walking over to buy the doughnut for Mokuba before coming back and pushing out the doors, into the freezing cold weather that awaited.

He had a lot to think about tonight.

 


	4. The Beginning of the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authoress here! Sorry this update is a day late, I entirely forgot about it yesterday!
> 
> I do NOT own YuGiOh!, please leave a review.

 

Chapter 3:

The Beginning of the Beginning

Yami had spent that night tossing and turning, his sleep fitful rather than peaceful. He slowly began to open up his eyes, glancing at the alarm clock. He gave a feeble groan, turning over and covering his head with his pillow in attempt to shut out reality.

It was seven o'clock in the morning, and he just  _knew_  he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. He didn't want to be up this early; in fact, it was even earlier than he had to get up for school in the mornings, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Going back to sleep would only upset his body and make him even more tired later in the day.

Promising himself that he'd take a nap later to make up for it, he threw the covers off of him and his feet gently touched the ground below them as he let out a yawn, stretching back his arms to loosen his muscles. He rubbed his eyes, hoping to get rid of the sleep that was clinging to his consciousness and attempting to force his mind back to the comfortable darkness.

Yami stood up, forcing his body to fight against gravity as he took a couple of clumsy steps into the bathroom. Unfortunately, he had a lot of caffeine in his system the night before, so he  _really_  needed to pee. After his business was done, (typical morning routine said now was the time to get changed, but he didn't feel like changing his clothes and he was in a hoodie, so he didn't think anyone was going to notice) he decided it was time to go and start the day.

Yami thought. Mai wasn't coming back to the hospital until eleven AM, so he didn't know what he would do until then. After a moment's deliberation, (and realizing that he wasn't hungry enough to eat breakfast yet) he decided that he would take a walk around the hospital, maybe stretch his legs a bit. He'd been getting lazier and lazier these last few months, and he knew that he should really at least  _try_  to keep himself in shape. Even if that only came from sprinting to class to make sure he was on time and occasional walks around the place.

He took a couple of steps down his usual route before deciding to change it up. He hadn't gone to the other side of the hospital in quite some time, and he knew that Cecelia would be there doing extra tutoring for those who needed it, so he figured that he might as well drop by and say hello. He started down in that direction, his eyes wandering around as they typically did when he was exploring.

It didn't take very long to get there; the hallways were mostly empty, and the hospital wasn't  _too_ large, so he knew his way around.

When he did get there, he saw a flurry of activity. There were kids running around, (kids that were typically supervised at this point in the day) and a nurse who looked like she was about to pull her hair out in stress, Yuugi sitting by her with a look of displeasure on his face. Yami wondered if it was because the kids were being loud.

The nurse's eyes lit up when she noticed him, and she waved him over. Yami did a quick check and saw that Cecelia was nowhere around; he figured that she'd taken the day off to spend with her husband, Pegasus. The nurse didn't look familiar, but he figured they must have interacted before, because she knew sign language.

"Listen, I've been told to take care of the kids and stay with Yuugi at the same time, I don't know how to do that. Do you think you could watch Yuugi for a few minutes?" She asked, her eyes pleading. Yami nodded his head yes immediately, happy at the opportunity to spend some time with the intriguing new kid. She breathed a sigh of relief, thanking him, before she walked over to Yuugi. He assumed that she was explaining what was happening to the object of his interest.

Yuugi nodded his head, but not until he crossed his arms over his chest and gave a pout. Yami wondered what he was upset with briefly before the nurse walked back over and grabbed Yami, dragging him over to the nearest table and sitting him down before grabbing Yuugi and placing him next to Yami. "Don't let him wander off. There are some braille books over there," She gestured towards the bin in the corner, "Made specifically for practice. I'll be back in about an hour, somebody else takes care of the kids by then. Or at least, I hope so." She said.

Yami nodded his head again, slightly dazed with how fast she was. Yuugi flinched as she opened her mouth and called something to the kids, so he figured that she had been loud. Well, whatever she had done, it had the proper effect, because the kids all lined up one by one to stand in front of her eagerly. She turned on a quick heel, children following behind her like she was a mother duckling and they were her flock. As the last kid left, he shook his head.

Taking another look around the waiting room, he found that they were entirely alone. He shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to do now.

Yuugi's hands came up to rest on the table, his fingers lightly skimming over the textured surface. Yami watched as he did, seeing nothing else to do. There were some children's things scattered over the table, and Yuugi's hands paused on top of a crayon box. Yami watched curiously as he felt around it, eventually opening it and letting the crayons spill out onto the table. Yuugi's face lit up like he'd just had a revelation, and he turned towards Yami.

Yami was on high alert now, curiosity burning in him. Yuugi put down the crayon he was holding and held up his hands, making a rectangle motion at Yami before pretending to shake it out. Yami tilted his head in confusion for a moment before he realized what Yuugi wanted.

Yami's head tilted to the side. Yuugi wanted paper? What for? Yuugi was  _blind,_  he wasn't going to be drawing any time soon. Well, at least, Yami didn't think so... Maybe he wanted to do some weird impressionist thing? Whatever it was, Yami wanted to find out.

He reached over to the far corner of the table, grabbing a couple of sheets of printer paper where it sat before gently pushing it in Yuugi's hands. He could see that Yuugi said "thank you" before turning back to the table and reaching back to the small pile of crayons, grabbing one and placing it to the paper as if he intended to draw. Yami leaned over a little bit closer, to where he could feel Yuugi's body heat radiating in between them, and he watched Yuugi's hand move.

Slowly, he began forming words along the paper. The handwriting was shaky and Yami didn't doubt that, had he switched lines, they would have been spaced carefully apart to avoid writing on top of the other words. Yuugi seemed like the kind of person who was careful.

"So I guess this is the part where I feel your face, huh?" Yuugi wrote. Yami stared at the paper, unsure what to make of it for a second, before he saw the faintest of smiles stretched across Yuugi's lips, as if he were trying to keep his humor dry. Yami realized then that he was joking, and he let an amused snort come out, knowing that Yuugi heard it when his small smile turned wide.

What kind of a person could joke around about something like this freely? He obviously wasn't having  _fun_  being blind, and Yami had seen plenty of people come in and grow bitter and angry due to their disabilities, turning colder and colder until eventually only people hired specifically to take care of them would. It was always sad to see those people coming in with their paid help, bags under their eyes, a bitterly sour expression on their face. But, then again, he'd seen a lot of people take it really well. Some of them had joked around about it, sure, but never just two weeks after it happened. A lot of people needed time to adjust before they could see the humor in things.

The fact that Yuugi had moved on so quickly was intriguing.

There was a pause as Yuugi scribbled little circles on the side of the paper, biting his lip as he thought of what to say. Yami watched him intensely as he thought, noting the smooth transition from thinking to the way he sat up a little taller and determination flickered across his features when he had something that he wanted to say. Yuugi put crayon to the paper again, slowly forming words below the ones above.

"Do you think there's any way we could talk? I'm bored right now." Yuugi said. Yami paused, his eyes flickering over to the braille books. Surely the nurse told Yuugi about them before she left? Maybe Yuugi just wanted to talk anyways; he could be missing human interaction. But how  _would_  they talk? It's not like Yami knew how to communicate. Yuugi could write and he could see it, but he couldn't write in braille (wouldn't he need wax on paper or something similar to do that? Would making dots on the paper be enough?) so Yuugi couldn't get his response.

Yami realized something then; Yuugi could recognize letters. Maybe, if he went slow enough and wrote large enough, Yuugi would be able to tell what he was writing if he lead Yuugi's hand along. But... He didn't know how Yuugi would react to somebody randomly grabbing his arm. Would he be alarmed? Yami looked around the room again. There wasn't anyone to go and fetch a nurse that was able to explain what he was trying to do, so Yuugi would be entirely in the dark. Well... Yami had two options: Ignore the question, or try his idea and hope that Yuugi didn't freak out.

He stood up, Yuugi's head tilting in confusion as he felt the slight rush of air and heard the shift. Yami slowly leaned down over him, placing his head on Yuugi's right shoulder as he reached down to slowly wrap Yuugi's hand in his own. Yuugi's cheeks turned a lovely pink color, but luckily for Yami, he waited to see what he was getting at before he tried to do anything stupid. Yami unwrapped Yuugi's hand from the writing utensil, blushing a bit himself, and he put his own hand down at the bottom before placing Yuugi's a couple of inches above his, both of their hands barely fitting on the waxy crayon. He started to move his hand, scribbling a little in the air first to make sure Yuugi was following.

He resisted a little at first, but soon enough, he relaxed. Yami smiled as he slowly put the crayon down to the paper, deciding that while using cursive would be nice, it would be better to just go with regular handwriting since so many people didn't know it. He formed the first large 'a', trying not to get distracted by Yuugi's back pressed up against his chest, and then moved on, the other letters flowing freely as Yuugi mouthed what they were (or maybe he actually said it; Yami couldn't know for sure).

At the end, Yami let go of the crayon and waited as Yuugi thought through what the word was, reforming the letters in his mind. Yami stayed close, his head not leaving Yuugi's shoulder as Yuugi placed the crayon to the paper, right below the space where Yami had written, 'age?' Yuugi smiled just a bit as he wrote his response down in neat numbers, but he didn't stop there.

"Seventeen. You are?" Yuugi wrote, smiling the slightest bit as he moved his hand automatically back up to the top of the crayon. Yami returned to his previous position with his hand.

Huh. It looked like he was wrong about Yuugi being younger than him.

"Seventeen." Yami wrote, before pausing. He wanted to think of something more he could ask Yuugi that was simple enough for him to understand what Yami was writing, but didn't seem like a cliché question or wasn't something too invasive.

"Favourite colour?" Yami asked, and he gave Yuugi a moment, knowing that it would take him a couple of seconds to put together what Yami had said. Yuugi seemed to have a pretty good idea of how to do this though, because he had an answer prepared much quicker than Yami would have expected.

"Red, really really deep red. You?" Yuugi wrote, then smoothly slid his hand the rest of the way up the crayon. Yami returned his hand, this time noticing that Yuugi leaned back into his touch. He wondered briefly if anyone had hugged him since he came here, or if he was craving human contact. Maybe Yuugi was just affectionate and he wanted to befriend Yami? That option didn't seem likely; he was blushing, if he was affectionate he'd be used to things like that. He was probably right on the first guess; he'd been starved of attention. Yami never had to deal with that, thanks to having first Anna and now Mai... though Mai wasn't very affectionate, and neither was he when it came down to it. He'd sort of missed human contact like this.

"I like them all." Yami wrote. He shifted his legs; he was tired of standing and didn't know how to continue his conversation with Yuugi really, so he figured it was time to sit down. He cursed the fact that he didn't have any way to talk to him, but there was really nothing that could be done about it, unless he learned how to speak and read lips.

He sat down next to Yuugi, missing the body heat they had momentarily shared. He thought back to what Mai had said to him just the day before, and suddenly he was happy that Yuugi couldn't see his blush. He slowly put his head down on the table, burying it in his arms as he resisted the urge to groan. He didn't want to think about that right now! He barely even knew the kid, what could he gain from having a crush?

He raised his head up just in time to see that Yuugi was writing again, his hand slowly forming words across the paper. It was almost full of words now, so Yami reached over to grab another piece as Yuugi set down the crayon and waited for Yami to read what he had wrote.

"Sorry if I seem a little hostile, I'm a bit annoyed that I have to be babysat twenty four hours a day." Yuugi had written. Yami could see his small frown, his eyes crinkling in the most peculiar way as he displayed his displeasure.

About his eyes... Most blind people Yami knew had their eyes opened. Yuugi had  _always_  had his eyes closed so far, not once opening them, even on instinct. He wondered why that was. Was there a reason as to why he felt like closing them? Were his eyes glass now and he was embarrassed? Did he not want people to see them because he didn't want them to be commented on? Did he just not use them because they were useless now? What did his eyes look like?

The questions swirled around in Yami's head, so much that he almost forgot that Yuugi had written anything on the paper at all. He pulled it together though, rereading Yuugi's response and them smiling. He made a sound to acknowledge it before he stood up and resumed his position behind Yuugi and grabbed the bottom of the crayon, feeling Yuugi's hand brushing against his as he wrote.

"No, you're nice." Yami wrote. He paused, giving a moment for Yuugi to digest what he had said before he continued, "They'll leave you alone soon."

Yuugi smiled and nuzzled back into Yami momentarily, humming his approval. Yami could feel Yuugi's sound vibrate against him and he pulled back a little in shock, finding the sensation a curious one. Is that what it felt like to speak, that light vibration going through your body? Nobody had really talked while touching him before, so he was slightly intrigued by the sensation.

"Thank you. I know once I learn to use a cane they'll stop." Yuugi wrote quickly. Yami nodded his head, unsure of how to respond. Actually, now that he thought of it, did he really have anything else to say? There wasn't much he could think to talk about when he wanted to keep his words short for the sake of Yuugi. He gave a sigh, not liking the limitations that came with both of them having disabilities. He supposed that there had to be a better way to work through it, but he was unsure of how to find it.

Suddenly, a pair of purple boots appeared in his line of vision, and he slowly looked up. He looked like a deer caught in headlights as Mai rose an eyebrow, clearly enjoying that she had new material to torment Yami with.

"Looks like you're having fun there. Do I need to give you two some alone time?" Mai asked. Yami blushed deeply and pulled away, shaking his head no fiercely.

"No! No! It's not like that. I was guiding his hand to write so he could tell what I was trying to say to him, that's it. I got put watching him because his nurse was asked to do that  _and_  take care of the kids, and she told me to make sure he didn't wander off and she left!" He said, backing up. Mai had a loom of utmost amusement on her face as she looked back and forth between the two, Yuugi turning around curiously, wondering why Yami had suddenly left.

"Oh, I'm sure you needed to be pressed up against him for that." Mai said, giving a small wink. "Don't worry, I know how it is." She said. Yami audibly groaned, putting his face in his hands and shaking his head.

"Yami?" Yuugi asked. Yami looked to Mai and gestured towards Yuugi, knowing that she would have to explain the situation to him, but also dreading what she would tell him.

Mai opened her mouth and said something to Yuugi, and Yami flinched.

"You better not have told him anything embarrassing. I swear we were just talking, Mai." Yami insisted. Mai looked up again, mischief in her eyes and a deadly smirk on her face.

"You're awfully defensive Yami. Are you  _sure_  you don't want to go ahead and admit to having a little crush? I think both of us would feel a lot better." Mai teased, winking.

"I'm going to kill you. Why are you even here this early?" Yami asked, trying to divert her attention. He took a few steps and sat back down by Yuugi, waiting patiently for Mai's answer.

"I decided to get some overtime. I want the puppy to have some chew toys. That, and I was going to spend some extra time with you. Looks like the position of your hangout buddy's been filled, though." Mai signed back, gesturing towards Yuugi. Yami shook his head, giving a deep sigh. He decided to let the comment go, hoping that they could just move on.

"Okay. Well, will you translate for us?" Yami asked. Mai nodded her head, grabbing the chair across the table from them and sitting down, leaning forward eagerly to inform Yuugi that she was going to translate.

"He wanted me to ask you how long you've been here. Should I give him the full story?" Mai asked. Yami paused briefly before nodding his head in consent.

Mai then proceeded to explain to Yuugi the entire ordeal- Yami's birth, his mother's abandonment, Anna's role as his mother, the hospital's reluctance to keep him, the decision finally being made, Mai's befriendment, and all leading up to Anna's death a couple of years ago including what's keeping him from learning to read lips. Yuugi continued to nod his head encouragingly through the entire story, and it drove Yami crazy that he couldn't know exactly what Mai was saying. He was constantly growling or fidgeting, the twenty minutes that the story took feeling like much longer to the impatient boy. Finally though, it was over, and Yuugi digested everything for a couple of minutes before he responded.

"That's cool. Sorry about Anna, but it sounds like you've had a pretty interesting life. I have a question, though. Are you planning on learning to read lips or speaking sometime before your birthday, or do you not want to take the risk?" Mai translated as Yuugi spoke, turning to Yami for the answer. Actually, even she herself didn't know the answer to this question, and Yami flinched at the expectant expression she was giving him.

 _Did_  he want to learn how? He'd made it through life thus far without it, so why would he unnecessarily change things now? Then again, he'd seen how inconvenient it had been for him in the past to not know what people were saying or how to get his message across, and it would be nerve-wracking to go out in the real world  _not only_  on his own, but on his own  _with limitations_. He had money, but not enough to hire a translator. Hell, he couldn't even order his own coffee without Mai around to tell the cashier what he wanted. Sure he could write down his order and explain that he was deaf on paper, but he didn't want to look foolish or be looked down upon. Not only that, but he'd have trouble finding a job with the communication gap.

Then again, there were probably special deaf communities. He would imagine that they'd have a couple of jobs to give out, and he knew that he was a good enough worker to get one. Without Anna here to support him, it just didn't quite feel like he should learn. He'd always expected her guidance on when to take this step, whether or not to take this step, and if he did decide, her help along the way. Without her here, something about learning it just seemed forced. He wasn't sure if he would be able to do it and not quit halfway through.

All in all, he didn't know what to do right now and didn't have the information to properly decide.

"I'm honestly not sure." Yami said, biting his lip. "I have a lot of stuff to think about when it comes to that."

Mai quickly translated before turning back to Yami and giving Yuugi's reply of, "Well, when you have it figured out, you should tell me." and Yami nodded his head, thinking of what he could ask Yuugi.

"If you feel comfortable, would you mind telling me your life story? It's only fair, since you know mine." Yami signed. Mai translated and he nudged Yuugi to make sure he knew that Yami was joking; he didn't want to push the boy to do anything he didn't want to do, especially since the information itself would have to be passed on through Mai. Yuugi might not feel comfortable sharing.

Yuugi laughed, his body shaking lightly as he smiled, nodding his head yes. He began to tell Mai his story, and Yami could tell that Mai was interested from the way her eyes lit up in curiosity and she leaned forward, nodding her head every once in awhile. What was probably only a couple of minutes had felt like an entire lifetime to Yami, and he had to resist asking Mai to break it into pieces so he could just hear it already. Yuugi finally finished speaking and Mai turned to Yami, a small smile on her face.

"He was raised in a boarding school from the time he was small, because his parents were wealthy and busy and had nobody to take care of him. He's going to be at the hospital for quite some time since he doesn't know how to read braille or walk with a cane, coupled with the fact that they actually don't have any relatives they can trace back to him. He said that he had just convinced his parents a year ago to allow him to go to public school, and he was back home for what he thought was good. Unfortunately his parents dragged him out to go to a social event recently, and on the way there they were hit by a drunk driver." Mai said. Yami paused, trying not to feel too much pity. He knew that he always hated it when people pitied him, and he tried to give Yuugi the same courtesy up to a certain extent. Still, it had to suck having your parents killed only a year after being reunited with them, having escaped from a life of boarding school.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, it must suck." Yami signed, giving a sigh. Mai did her thing, and Yuugi shook his head no, surprisingly.

"I didn't get to know them very well. They were always away, we didn't spend much time together. I only really wanted to come home from boarding school to get the public school experience." Yuugi informed him. Mai finished translating and put her hands down, honestly sick of using them for this long. She needed a small break; both sides could be long winded.

It was then, though, that the other nurse came in. Her heels were clopping on the ground in time with her own set rhythm as she led the group of children back like a Shepard leading her herd. The kids filed in in a neat and orderly line before slowly dispersing, doing their own thing. Yami noted that they were considerably better behaved now, and most of them were yawning. The nurse walked over to the table where the three of them sat, turning first to Mai.

"You're the one who's going to take them to bed, correct? They're all ready to go, it should only take around twenty minutes." She said. Mai shook her head, and she turned towards Yami. "Thank you for helping with my patient, however, he needs to have a meeting with the doctor. So, if you'll excuse us..." She signed rather than spoke.

Yami felt his heart fall, giving a small frown at the situation. He really wanted to spend more time with Yuugi, but he knew that it was probably not the smartest idea to go against a nurse so determined. So, he nodded his head at her, intent on following her given instructions. Glancing at Yuugi, he signed, "Can you tell him that I said goodbye?"

She nodded her head before turning to Yuugi and saying something, and Yuugi visibly slumped. He slowly stood up too, using the chair for leverage as he went, keeping him rooted to the ground. He seemed to ask her something and she gave a respond, gesturing towards where Yami was on impulse. Yami tilted his head in confusion as Yuugi slowly turned in his direction.

Yuugi raised his arms to awkwardly wrap them around Yami's waist, hitting him from a bit of an angle. It was lacking grace, but Yami had the feeling that his hugs would be like this even if he could see. He was warm and soft, and it took Yami a moment to register that he should be hugging  _back,_  before he wrapped his arms around the smaller one's waist and drew him close. His head came to rest naturally slightly on top of Yuugi's, and he gave a small inhale. Yuugi smelled like vanilla.

Yuugi eventually pulled away and Yami let him, glancing up to see Mai staring knowingly and feeling his face go red. He patted Yuugi on the head and signed a last goodbye, even though he knew that Yuugi couldn't see it, before watching him turn with the nurse and leave.

"Why don't you wait in the break room? First, though, go get some coffee from the ER and bring it back; I'm in dire need of caffeine. I should be there soon." Mai said, taking out her purse and rummaging through it. Yami rolled his eyes as he waited patiently for Mai to find her money, chuckling softly when she finally came across her change purse and sheepishly handed him the money. He took off down the hallway, sparing one last glance over his shoulder at Mai wrangling up the rug rats before he headed down to the ER.

Pretty soon, he was waiting as instructed in the waiting room, the delicious scent of french vanilla tempting him to go ahead and take a sip. He ignored the temptation, thinking it rude to eat or drink before someone got there if you knew they were to be joining you shortly. Instead, he decided that he would spend his time dreading the moment Mai walked into the room. He had seen the way she quirked up her eyebrow as Yuugi hugged him earlier; he was fully expecting her to tease him relentlessly.

Soon enough, he snapped out of his thoughts as the doors opened and Mai practically danced in, a smile stretched across her face. She came to an abrupt halt in front of where Yami was sitting on the counter and put her hands on either side of his legs, sufficiently caging him in. This type of closeness would make a normal person uncomfortable, but by now Yami was used to Mai's lack of personal space boundaries; she was a little  _too_ tenacious sometimes.

She lifted her hands when she was certain that Yami wouldn't escape the conversation, smirking as she signed out, "Well, it looks like someone has game. I didn't know you could be so flirtatious, Yami!" She said, her face lit up in a mixture of knowledge and attitude. Yami groaned and he let his face fall forward into his hands, shaking his head before looking up at the sky and wondering,  _Why me?_

"I didn't flirt with him intentionally. If he took it that way then I'm sorry, but Mai, I'm not gay." He defended. Mai looked deeply into his eyes, and he was almost certain that she could see the uncertainty flickering in their depths. He wanted to convince her that he was straight, more than anything, to convince himself. He just didn't want to have to deal with the drama of discovering his sexuality so far; There is a time and a place for everything, and it's called college. He'd find out then.

"Okay, well even if you didn't intentionally flirt, I saw that blush when he hugged you. Even if you won't admit it to me, you're questioning your sexuality. If you're not, then you really should be, because I think you'd find that you're not as straight as you claim." She said, giving a sigh. She stepped back a little bit, allowing Yami his space. She was clearly giving him an opportunity for a subject change, but she looked disappointed. He tried to reverse the situation.

Okay, she had just come out of the closet to him as bisexual the other day. She clearly trusted him with all of her heart, and he tried his best to return the favor. She'd never told anyone any of his secrets, remaining loyal at all costs. He knew that if he had something personal to say, she would be able to keep it between them no matter what. So, to her, Yami not opening up to her about this was probably a big deal. She was probably hurt that he didn't trust her enough to talk with her about it, and she just might have some useful information to help him draw his conclusion.

"Mai... Okay, fine. Why don't you tell me how I would know if I were gay?" Yami asked, relenting. He knew he would hurt her if he wasn't honest, and this would be the best way to admit that he might be questioning. Mai paused, thinking for a moment.

"Well, honestly, more than anything you just think something's a little...  _off._  Can you see yourself being with a woman?" She questioned. Yami froze, a blush growing on his face as he thought back to the picket-fence life. He shook his head no, and Mai didn't miss a beat. "How about a man?"

Yami considered the option. Honestly, he couldn't see himself being attracted to any random guy, either. Any relationship where he would display attraction would be entirely unrealistic- the only people he was attracted to were famous. Well, except Yuugi. That wasn't something he was willing to admit right now though, even to himself. He needed to get his sexuality straightened out before he worried about whether or not he liked one specific person. One person didn't mean anything.

Yami eventually shook his head no. Holy Ra, how did he not realize this before? People walking on streets, people in magazines, even the people who seemed the most visually appealing and were standing right in front of him didn't specifically hold appeal. What if... What if he just didn't like anyone? Yami didn't want to be alone forever!

"No." Yami signed defeatedly. His lips pursing into a grim line. "There are a couple of actors or actresses I like I guess, but that's entirely unrealistic." He insisted. Mai, instead of looking confused or disappointed like he would have expected, gave a small smile and nodded her head like it was a good thing. Yami tilted his head in confusion.

"You know Yami, there are other options besides straight, gay, and bisexual." She said wisely, backing up a little and letting her butt lean against the table so she didn't have to continue standing, "There's also pansexual, asexual, and some people don't fit into anything at all."

"What are those? Isn't asexual when an organism reproduces with itself?" Yami questioned. Mai laughed, shaking her head no.

"Of course not, that's ridiculous. I mean, I guess it's that too, but that's not how it's applied to humans, Yami." She said, her eyes sparkling with humor as she teasingly scolded him. "Asexuality is defined differently by different people, but essentially it's where you don't get attracted to boys or girls. A lot of asexual people are attracted to someone from their personality, and they choose to build the relationship off of that instead. Actually, some asexual people even feel sexual desires for their partner's bodies after they've formed the emotional bond- mainly stemming from the want to please. I think there might be a separate name for that, though. Demisexual, I think it was? Well, anyways, pansexual is sort of like asexual in the way that you bond with someone and that's where your relationship stems from, but pansexuals do actually have a sexual orientation- most choose to disregard it. Though again, a lot of people define it differently and you can't hold anybody who identifies as either to either definition. For example, some asexual people  _never_  want intimacy, and some even don't see the appeal in just an emotional relationship. So it's more of a spectrum than absolute definitions." She explains. Some times she looked like she was struggling to find the right words, but she had explained it fairly well for Yami's limited knowledge on the topic. He had to admit that his head was spinning, though.

"Wow, that's... A lot to take in." He said, his eyes widening. He leaned back against the cabinet, taking a sip of his coffee. It had finally cooled down to  _just_  the right temperature, so he lifted it to his lips and started to practically chug the stuff. He honestly needed some time to clear his head from all this mess, and some time to think through it all. There was a lot to consider when it came to things like this.

"So, there are people who don't identify at all? What does that mean, they just don't date?" Yami asked, trying to clarify some things. Mai had done a good job, but there were still a few holes and gaps that left him curious about the whole thing. Honestly, the closest thing he'd heard so far to him would be asexual, not attracted to either sexes. Then again, he had never really formed a  _real_  emotional bond with somebody, so he wasn't sure if the... What was it? Demisexual, he wasn't sure if that applied to him.

Well, he knew that he would be okay with...  _intimacy,_  but he didn't find himself craving for another person's body. Again, he hadn't explored demisexual yet, (and wasn't able to at the moment, he didn't have anyone whom he could test that one on) but asexual was sounding closest right now. The idea of touching and being touched was appealing- but not for what was on the other person's body, more to give and receive pleasure. So... asexual, then? Maybe.

"No no no! I had a girlfriend who didn't identify once actually. We didn't last long, she was nice but I had a lot going on at the time and getting into something as serious as she was looking for would  _not_  have been good. She dated around a lot- she just didn't feel like her sexuality really and truly had a definition. She thought it was stupid to use a word to define yourself, so she didn't. If she liked someone, she went after them, end of story." Mai elaborated.

There was a pause as Yami mulled this over, deep in thought. After all, there  _was_  a lot to think about.

"You still feel like you're straight?" Mai asked, quirking her eyebrow. Her small smile and sure posture showed that she already knew the answer to the question before she had asked it, but she had to ask anyways, to confirm her suspicions. Yami gave a deep sigh, knowing that he couldn't lie to her at this point even if he wanted to. He was afraid of telling her anything, because telling people felt like it was a sure ending, like he could never go back if it turned out he  _was_  straight. He knew Mai would never hold it against him if it turned out that he wasn't, though, and he just had to reassure himself of that.

"No, not really. I have a lot to sort through." He said, shaking his head. He avoided eye contact, not wanting to see her sure expression unwavering like he knew it would be. Mai just  _knew_  things sometimes, and he guessed that this was just one of those. He was glad it was her and not somebody else.

"I bet that Yuugi can help you sort through them." She teased. Yami's face went bright red again, and he shook his head.

"Stop it, even if I did like him, he's probably straight." Yami argued, wanting the teasing to stop. Yuugi really was adorable, and he smelled good, and Yami liked what little talking they could do together, but he didn't want to develop a crush, and certainly not on somebody he just met. He didn't need to be getting attached right now, especially to somebody he could hardly even talk to.

"No he's not." Mai said, smirk turning into a broad smile. Yami saw the usual glint of mischief in her eyes, and he froze.

"How do you know?" He asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. Mai looked up at the ceiling innocently and she twirled a strand of hair in between her fingers, as if she was trying to remember something but couldn't quite grasp it. Her eyes finally lit up in faux memory, her hands jumping forward to tell the story,

"Because I talked to him yesterday, when you thought I'd already left. We were having a casual conversation and I worked it in. I was actually highly subtle compared to what I could have done. He's gay though, so you don't have to worry. If you like him, he's a possibility." Mai said, giving a small wink. Yami shook his head back and forth, not believing the gall that she had. He would never have the tenacity it would take to ask somebody he'd just met their sexual orientation; that seemed like information you let somebody else  _offer_  up. He couldn't really complain though, because as long as she hadn't been rude, everything was okay and he now had the little tidbit of information.

"Just because he's gay doesn't mean he'd like me." Yami signed, then looked down at his feet. Mai clicked her tongue, shaking her head back and forth.

"Yami, you have one of the best personalities I've ever experienced. I'm incredibly proud to call you my friend. Maybe you're right and he wouldn't like you, but honestly, I highly doubt that's a possibility. He told me himself he values kindness above all else in a relationship, and you're the kindest person I know. Even if he didn't end up falling for you, it would be a shame to waste the opportunity." She said. Yami shook his head again.

"Yeah, he's cute and nice, but I don't really  _know_  him. We can't even talk, Mai. In case you haven't noticed, he's blind and I'm deaf. There's just some stuff that you can't relay through guiding someone's hand to write things down. I just don't understand how it could work." He signed frustratedly, before tucking his hands back under his arms. There, he admitted it.

"You and I both know you'd find a way to work around that if you wanted to. You've never let your disability stop you before, and I don't see why you'd start now." Mai said calmly. Yami felt the tension starting to drain from him now that his feelings were out, and he found that what Mai said had made sense. He could think of another way already, it's just... He didn't know if he could do it. Learning to speak would be a huge thing to do, he didn't want somebody who could end up hating him to influence the decision. "Besides, even if you don't, you and I both know that there are other ways to communicate than just through words. Trust me, you don't need to speak to each other to fall in love."

Yami nodded his head, watching Mai jump in surprise as her watch alarm began to go off. Mai lifted it and looked at the numbers, giving a soft groan as she realized that her break was most definitely over. As much as she'd like to continue the conversation with Yami, she knew there wasn't much more to say, and now she had to go. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulders, grabbing her papers and shoving them in before turning to Yami for her goodbye.

"I'll see you at lunch. My break is over." She informed him. Yami nodded and she walked briskly out the door, greeting a couple of other nurses by sign language on accident, forgetting momentarily to switch over. Yami gave a chuckle at her smooth recovery, watching as she raised the hand previously signing and used it to scratch her head instead.

Yami felt exhaustion go through him, seeming to soak into his very bones. He had been awake long enough, and it was only nine thirty in the first place. Hopping off of the counter, he decided that he very much deserved a nap right about now, taking a break from all the questions swirling in his head.

Yeah, he  _definitely_  deserved a nap.


	5. Emotion Without Communication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for another Wednesday update. I suppose you'll forgive me.  
> Please review?

Chapter 4:

Emotion Without Communication

A week had passed since his conversation with Mai, and Yami had hardly gotten to even _see_ Yuugi; it seemed like somebody was intentionally trying to keep them apart. It was a little annoying at first, but it quickly escalated into being downright frustrating. It wasn't long before he could honestly say that he was tempted to find out Yuugi's room number and go find him himself.

He caught glimpses of Yuugi in the classroom, but Cecelia had been piling on the work lately. He'd been busy for at least five hours of school ever day, and even when he wasn't, Yuugi was working on learning braille. He was having a little difficulty, (Yami would too-- bumps that small?) so he was also staying behind after school to learn. Yami had his extracurriculars after his school day, so he couldn't stick around and by the time he was done, Yuugi was already gone.

Yami woke up with the sun shining viciously bright in his eyes, and he sighed, pulling his pillow over his head again. It was seven again, bright and early. He laid in bed feebly, his muscles tensed up and aching from staying in the same position all night. He tried to get out the knots and kinks by just relaxing, but he found that it was nearly impossible. He gave up and stretched, savouring the yank and pull of his muscles as he pushed them to the limit.

It was at that point that he realized he knew where Yuugi would be at this time.

He practically sprang out of bed, going through his drawers at lightning speed to find something good to wear. He knew he had the advantage here since Yuugi was blind and couldn't actually _see_ his clothes, but he still didn't want to go in his pyjamas.

He let a dark blue sweatshirt fall over his head, wrinkling his nose at the itchy feeling of the seams. Once it had passed, though, the sweatshirt was quite comfortable. After that, he just slipped on some regular skinny jeans, ran his fingers through his hair, and decided that he'd wasted enough time.

The cold air hit him hard as he stepped out the door, and he was grateful again that he could control the temperature in his own room. He had no clue why the hospital always wanted to make it feel like the North Pole was just around the corner from here, but he _still_ hadn't gotten used to it, despite how long he lived here. Yami supposed he was cold-blooded. Maybe he would move to Florida one day.

He arrived at his intended destination not ten minutes after he left, having power walked the whole way there. He waved hello to a couple of the nurses, unable to return their verbal greetings.

When he got there, he excitedly burst into the room, leaning forward and looking around the posts and at the tables for Yuugi. He slumped when he realized that his friend wasn't there at the moment, a small frown appearing on is face. He'd known that there was a chance this would happen; the nurse's schedules change constantly. He'd just been hoping that Yuugi's nurse's hadn't.

He turned around, his head hanging low, fully intending to go back to his room and comfort himself by watching Supernatural and going through his Duel Monsters cards. As he spun, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and his head whipped around to see who it was, panic momentarily becoming his dominant emotion.

He sighed in relief when he saw that it was just a nurse, and he tilted his head in curiosity when she started to speak. She stopped abruptly, recognition sparking in her eyes as she realized who it was, and stepped back so that Yami could see her whole body, so that she could use sign language. “I have a problem. I'm supposed to take a patient on a walk for a friend of mine who has to watch the kids, and I have one of my usual patients getting sick. I asked Mai to do it and she said to come and find you. Sorry, I forgot you couldn't hear me for a second.” She said sheepishly. Yami's head tilted in curiosity.

“I suppose I could help. Where's the patient?” He asked. The nurse yelled something, her eyes flashing with panic, and Yami waited breathlessly for his companion to make themselves known.

He watched as, feeling his way along the wall, Yuugi stumbled around the corner, looking concerned. He told her something and she blushed, looking apologetic as she tried to explain the situation. He nodded his head, a smile forming on his face in response. Yami felt like fist pumping the air. He'd always been lucky, but this was almost too much.

“Okay, he said he needed to be led around, and since you can't talk to him to do that, you'll just have to hold his hand.” The nurse signed, looking back and forth between Yami and Yuugi. Suddenly, she smiled and gave a little giggle, gesturing in between them. “You're wearing the same clothes!” She pointed out. Yami quickly looked to Yuugi and saw that it was true; his sweatshirt was a little lighter that Yami's own, but the skinny jeans, the hair, even his signature black bracelets were the same on Yuugi. Yami felt a little heat on his cheeks; Yuugi definitely pulled the outfit off. He looked adorable.

The nurse suddenly groaned, looking at her pager. She grabbed Yami's hand and led him over to Yuugi, placing Yuugi's hand in his own. He blushed a little deeper, feeling the warmth not only from Yuugi's hand, but from the smile he gave afterwards. If it wasn't impossible, Yami would have sworn that Yuugi was looking right at him, too. The nurse turned to Yuugi and told him something before turning back to Yami. “Be back here in around forty five minutes. Until then, just make sure he gets to walk around and  _don't_ let him wander off. That means you stay with him the entire time, no exceptions.” The nurse announced. The pager must have made a particularly alarming noise then, because her and Yuugi both flinched, and she gave a groan before jogging off, looking panicked.

Yami watched her go until she disappeared, before he turned his gaze to Yuugi. Yuugi was still smiling the smallest bit, and he felt a light squeeze on his hand. Yami tried not to melt as Yuugi intertwined their fingers, but it was a lost cause. He shook his head, slightly dazed, before he gave Yuugi's hand a little tug, urging him to come along. 

He paused, looking back and forth between the hallways, trying to decide which path to go down. He didn't really have much of a plan, but he knew he had to check the time so he'd know when to have Yuugi back, so he decided that it would be best to go towards the nurse's station. Besides, it wasn't like he  _had_ to follow a specific set path. 

Yuugi was easy to lead. He didn't resist, Yami could pull him the slightest bit this way and that, and he'd immediately respond. He shuffled his feet along as best as he could, sticking as close to Yami as was socially acceptable. Their arms were brushing up against each other, and Yami felt like butterflies had built an entire colony in his stomach.

Yami took a sharp turn to the left, and Yuugi stumbled a bit. His arms flailed and his grip tightened on Yami, clearly off his centre of balance. Thinking as quickly as he could, he pulled Yuugi's arm, sending him away from the floor and into Yami's arms.

Yami protectively wrapped the arm that wasn't holding both of their hands around Yuugi's waist, his head bending down to nuzzle Yuugi's hair. He felt the warmth from the other body cut through the chill of the hospital, and Yuugi's head tilted up the slightest. Yami stayed like that for a full ten seconds before he realized how...  _intimate_ this would appear to others and he quickly let go of Yuugi, returning their hands down to their sides. Yuugi was blushing just the slightest bit and mumbled something that looked an awful lot like “Thank you”, so Yami gave a small sound to let him know it had been heard. 

Yuugi looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet the tiniest bit, mumbling something else. Yami wished desperately that he could tell what Yuugi was saying, and he cursed that he had avoided learning how to read lips. He wanted to know what Yuugi had to say. For once, he actually cared.

He shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. He gave Yuugi's hand another gentle squeeze, tugging a bit on his arm to try and lead him down the hallway. Yuugi stepped along with him, and Yami glanced up at the clock. He did the math to add thirty minutes and made the mental note to be back by then, knowing that he would cause a panic if he didn't have Yuugi back on time. He pulled Yuugi along a little bit faster, thinking of where they could go in that time.

Well, the hospital did have a small garden on the roof... It had been a couple of months since Yami had been there, but he absolutely loved the place. It had a large assortment of potted trees and flowers, and he knew that Yuugi would like it because aside from being beautiful, it also smelled lovely. He looked at Yuugi, remembering that they were both wearing the same outfit, and knowing that it would be warm enough for them to brave the outside weather for a little while.

He wasn't sure how Yuugi would feel about it, though. He knew that if he was taken outside spontaneously by somebody he barely knew and couldn't communicate with, he'd have some problems with it. He figured that it was just a risk that had to be taken though, and he had no way of clearing it with Yuugi beforehand if he still wanted to have him back on time. So, he started towards the elevator.

He pulled Yuugi into the small space and pressed the button for the top floor. Yuugi tensed up when the elevator started moving, tilting his head in confusion for a second before making the connection and giving a sigh of relief, laughing a little. He nudged Yami playfully, as if to say, “You scared me!” And he snuggled into Yami's arm. Yami tensed up, trying again to resist the cute, but he knew in his heart that it was impossible. It was impossible not to fall in love with Yuugi.

Yuugi's head lifted off of Yami's shoulders when they arrived on the top floor, the elevator giving a small 'ding!' to alert them that they had reached their destination. Yami walked out, pulling Yuugi along with him, crossing down a couple of hallways and passed a few rooms to finally reach the small double doors to the garden.

He gave a sigh, praying that Yuugi wouldn't panic at being taken outside, and he gave Yuugi's hand a small squeeze of reassurance. He pushed open the double doors, flinching at the burst of cold, early-March air as he slid outside, dragging Yuugi with him.

A thin layer of snow crunched under their feet, and he was overwhelmed by how  _fresh_ the air felt He gave a pleased hum, turning to Yuugi to make sure he wasn't panicking. Yuugi's face had a peaceful expression as he smelled the air, his mouth slightly open and his face alight with pleasure and wonder. Yami smiled, glad that he had made the right choice for their little adventure. 

He glanced around and saw the trees, their bark rough and branches barren for the winter months. He knew that spring would be here soon, and he was anticipating the arrival of the leaves and blooming of the yearly flowers they had planted, but for now everything looked absolutely stunning covered in the layer of glistening snow that had fallen. He smiled just the smallest bit, remembering when he had helped to decide which flowers would go where, and what flowers to have.

He had been just nine years old, and Anna was the one who had gotten the funding for the garden, claiming that patients on the top floor needed something to do in their spare time. She had gotten several of them to admit that going down to the bottom floor was stressful and tiring, and even started a petition to get the hospital to do something about it. It wasn't long after Anna had put her mind to it that she had gotten a beautiful spring garden, with the stipulation that she would have to put in the flowers with her own workers and organize the thing herself. She had been more than happy to agree to those terms, and had therefore had the power and control to let Yami make some of the decisions.

He glanced over to the small bush in the far right, the one he'd been allowed to plant. He could still remember excitedly running over towards it and digging into the rich soil of the large pot, putting the little sprout there and watching as it slowly grew up into the large bush it was today. It produced tantalizing blue flowers that smelled like fresh fruit and felt like satin across your skin, being roughly the size of a tea cup. Looking over there now, he noticed something peculiar.

Despite the season, he saw a large dash of blue breaking through the leafy green, coated in a light frost and gleaming like a shiny diamond in a dark cave. He pulled Yuugi over, his feet working quickly as he approached the bush, tentatively reaching out to grab the flower by the stalk. He used his fingernails to cut through the thin stem, lifting it up to his face to inhale deeply.

Despite the early bloom, it smelled just as sweet as it had in the middle of springtime. He breathed out onto it, watching the frost slowly melt and turn into large droplets of water. He felt the silky smooth petals for just a moment before he turned to Yuugi, holding it up for him to smell.

Yuugi looked confused for a moment, sniffing the air curiously before leaning forward, his nose hitting the soft petals just the slightest bit. He pulled back sharply for a moment and Yami gave a small chuckle, earning him what would be a playful glare had Yuugi been looking in is direction. With his eyes closed, it just looked like a slightly displeasured look of amusement. Yuugi quickly leaned forward again, inhaling deeply this time, his eyes fluttering the slightest bit as he did. He pulled away and smiled broadly, saying something that Yami couldn't read.

Yami turned towards him and grabbed his other hand with the one that was holding the flower, placing it there gently before he pulled his hand away. Yuugi had a brief look of confusion cross his face before he realized what Yami wanted, and he blushed a beautiful shade of bright pink. Yami blushed a bit at that too, Mai's suggestion that he might _like_ Yuugi echoing in his head. He looked down at his feet and shuffled them, mumbling in his mind about how stupid Mai was.

He jumped a bit as he felt Yuugi's arms around his waist, pulling him in for a nice hug. Yami froze for just a moment before he hugged back, his arms wrapping around Yuugi's waist and his hands coming to rest on Yuugi's sides, pulling the young one as close as they could manage to get. He closed his eyes and savoured the moment, breathing in and out slowly as he did.

Soon though, Yuugi pulled away. Yami gave a small frown and pulled him back inside after that, not wanting the cold of the outdoors to get to Yuugi. Yami lead them back to the elevator, pressing the button and waiting for the doors to open up. He was happy to see that nobody was inside the elevator, so Yuugi and him would have it all to themselves. He pressed the button for the floor Yuugi's nurse would be on, deciding it was best to get back down there. He wanted to check the time before he decided where to continue to.

Yami glanced back at Yuugi and found him fondly rubbing the soft flowers of the petal, a large, dopey smile on his face. He smiled too when Yuugi lifted it up to his face and let the petals slowly caress his cheek, giving a small shiver at the pleasant texture that resulted. Yami knew that people who had lost their sight loved both fragrant and soft things, and the flower was just as beautiful as Yuugi, so he knew that he should have it. In fact, it almost seemed like it had been placed there by fate specifically for Yuugi to have the flower.

The elevator stopped, and Yami pulled Yuugi out of it, passing by a child in a wheel chair with a very pregnant mother as he did so. He smiled at them, giving a light hearted wave as they passed. He found that with his walk outside, his mood had greatly improved in the short amount of time. In fact, it felt a little like he was walking on sunshine.

Yami went back to the nurse's station, a couple minute's walk from when he was supposed to meet Yuugi's nurse. He found that he had ten minutes left, so he decided that it would be best to go ahead and start heading back to the place where he was supposed to be. It seemed like it wouldn't be right to keep Yuugi's nurse waiting any longer than necessary, and he figured it would give him some time to talk to Yuugi via crayons and paper if they went back now.

They walked back to the small room, Yuugi still possessively holding the flower in his hand, and Yami led them over to the table they were sitting at yesterday, sitting both of them down in quick succession. Once they were safely sitting, his eyes scanned the room, looking for the crayons they had used to communicate yesterday. He growled in frustration, wondering why he couldn't find any, until finally he spotted the supplies cabinet in the corner of the room.

He tapped the table twice, hoping that Yuugi got the message that he'd be back. Yes, it was vague, but there was really no other way to communicate at this moment. He made his way over to the grey cabinet, the light reflecting off of it, and he gave the door a pull, nodding in satisfaction as it swung open freely. It was a good thing too; he didn't know where the nurses would keep the keys to something like this, and he didn't know anywhere else crayons would be.

He scanned the small cabinet, his eyes darting to and fro as he looked for something to use. Glitter, finger paints, hmm... Ah! Finally, his eyes rested upon a large box of markers. He reached in and grabbed a random one, (hoping that he didn't get yellow, as it would be hard to read,) and grabbed a small stack of printer paper off the bottom shelf. As soon as he had retrieved the supplies, he walked back over to the table and spread it out, handing Yuugi the marker he had gotten and placing a paper in front of him.

Yuugi's slightly confused and worried expression broke into a grin as he finally set the flower down on the table, using his other hand to uncap the black sharpie, (Yami vaguely remembered a nurse complaining once about putting sharpie in the kid's corner because they had tried to draw on the walls, but he disregarded the thought) and then to steady the paper as he began to write.

“Thank you. I had fun. Where did you take me outside?” He questioned. Yami smiled and got up from his seat, wrapping his arms around Yuugi again as he did. Yuugi blushed a bit and Yami pressed his cheek up against Yuugi's, savouring the warmth he radiated. This all felt so natural now, almost like he knew Yuugi long before any of this and they were simply getting reacquainted. If Yami believed in reincarnation, he would have said that they knew each other in a past life.

“The garden on the roof.” Yami wrote slowly. He could see Yuugi's features scrunch up the slightest bit in calculation as he put together Yami's letters, and he finally smiled, nodding his head in understanding.

There was a lot Yami could tell about Yuugi just from his body language. He was submissive, but more to be polite than it being his actual nature. He was happy, but not too proud of himself. He seemed like the kind of person who didn't hold grudges, who would give you his right arm if it would help. He seemed clever, catching onto what Yami wanted by a simple tug of his arm. More than that, above all, he was kind.

Yami could see it in the set of his features, the way he smiled whenever they walked past noisy children having a good time, the way he never seemed to assume anything was for him until it was placed in his hands several times. He had a kind of selflessness that Yami appreciated more than anything, and Yami wanted to get to know him better more than anything. He gave a sigh and felt his body soften as he relaxed against Yuugi, feeling like a little piece of him was being given away. Yuugi was his friend now, and Yami was helpless to stop himself from getting attached.

“It smelled nice. I liked the fresh air.” Yuugi wrote. Suddenly, there was a gust of said “fresh air” as somebody entered the building. Yami turned to see Yuugi's nurse coming back inside with the children, her jacket (which was currently tied around her waist) fluttering in the breeze. Yami puffed, pouting a bit over the fact that he would have to leave Yuugi soon, and his lips turned down into a frown. He almost wished that she would ask him to take care of Yuugi some more, but he knew that that wasn't going to happen.

The children filed away in a couple of neat lines, their legs pumping to get to the large play area. Some of the boys flocked to the Lego section, while others gathered in front of the small television in the corner, watching it intently. A small frown took over Yami's features and he turned towards the nurse, who was currently speaking to Yuugi. She nodded her head and looked relieved, as if something had just been explained to her, and she laughed. Yami realized then that she hadn't known it had been him taking care of Yuugi-- she had probably been confused to come back to them instead of Yuugi and the other nurse.

“Thank you for allowing me to watch Yuugi. I really enjoyed spending time with him.” Yami said, smiling. She turned towards him and nodded her head, returning his smile the slightest bit.

“From what he's telling me, he had a good time too.” She admitted. She extended a hand to Yuugi and Yami backed away, pulling out his companion's chair for him as the woman instructed him to stand. Yuugi obeyed, a small frown passing his features and his shoulders sagging the slightest bit. Yami couldn't help but feel his heart warm when he noticed Yuugi's hand darting out and wrapping around the flower, holding it tightly as his other hand landed in the nurse's.

“Any time you want to leave him with me, I'm free. I love spending time with him.” Yami said, nodding his head. She nodded back.

“I'll have to keep that in mind. I keep getting doubled up for duties, so you might have him often over the next few months. Sorry for the inconvenience, I just really need to keep up with everything.” She admitted sheepishly, letting go of Yuugi's hand momentarily to explain. Yami nodded his head, trying not to get his hopes up.

“That's entirely fine by me. I'll be seeing him more often, then.” He said. Suddenly, the nurse looked down at her pager and gave a groan, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Yuugi turned and waved at Yami with the hand that was holding the flower, his thumb holding the stem in place as he eagerly smiled in Yami's direction. Yami couldn't help but smile back, even if he knew that Yuugi couldn't see it.

Yami felt his stomach sink as he watched Yuugi walk away. He knew it was stupid to be sad about it, because Yami knew he would see him later, but he couldn't help but crave his presence. He knew that he never would quite et enough; Yuugi was so happy and gentle and kind, and Yami thought that he _had_ to be the sweetest thing in the world. Much sweeter than anyone else he had met.

Later that day, Yami felt a vice-like grip wrap around his wrist.

He turned in panic as he felt himself drag, his feet stumbling. He almost yanked his hand back and got ready to defend himself, adrenaline searing through his veins, but he caught a glimpse of wavy blonde, waist-length hair and he stopped. He allowed himself to be dragged a couple of feet before he turned around and started walking _with_ Mai, not bothering to tell her that she had (yet again) almost given him a heart attack of epic proportions, because he knew that his complaints would fall on deaf ears. Well, metaphorically speaking, of course.

He found himself being pushed into the waiting room, Mai smiling broadly. Her breasts jumped the slightest bit as she stopped her body with a slight pop, a smirk coming across her face. She looked like she had a story to tell, or had heard some juicy gossip, and Yami vaguely wondered which.

“Well, aren't you going to tell me how it went?” Mai asked, her eyes sparkling. Her hands came to rest on her waist and her bright red nail polish stood out against the white of her skirt, the little white plus in the centre of them a reverse of the typical medical sign. He noted that she smelled vaguely of lotion, and her skirt was a little longer than usual, and he figured she had been out with her mother that day. They would go out and get manicures every so often, and he knew that her mother was a little more...er... _conservative_ than Mai herself, so Mai tried not to offend her by dressing just a little more covered, more as a courtesy than anything else. Her mother knew she wasn't typically like that, but she appreciated the effort Mai went through not to make her uncomfortable.

“How what went?” Yami questioned, his brows furrowing as his hands formed the question. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked back up to her face, watching as she rolled her eyes. He tilted his head as she lifted her hands to elaborate, apparently accepting the fact that Yami really didn't know what she was talking about.

“Come on, don't play clueless! Yuugi's walking around like cupid slapped him across the face with an arrow, clutching one of those blue flowers _you_ love so much. It doesn't take much to put two and two together Yami, and it's adding up to four.” She said, flipping her hair. Yami felt a light blush overtake his face; god he was doing that a lot lately, wasn't he? He shook his head, not knowing how to respond to that. It could be true, he supposed, but he also knew that Mai over exaggerated things sometimes, and when it came to romance, he didn't know if he could trust her judgement. He knew that he couldn't get out of telling her what happened now, but he refused to believe that Yuugi really looked _that_ lovestruck. It was just Mai being Mai.

“We went on a walk and I thought he might like some fresh air. I thought that he would like the flower and it was the only one in bloom, so I picked it and handed it to him. Nothing more than that.” Yami defended, shaking his head. Mai's eyebrows rose and he spent several seconds staring into her eyes, trying to let her see that he was telling the truth. She finally dropped her eyes and her shoulders slumped, displaying her disappointment for the world to see.

“Well, why didn't you kiss him?”

“For the love of god Mai, I still don't even know if I like men or not! Please don't-- you're going to make things awkward if you keep meddling!” Yami signed, shaking his head and letting out a frustrated breath. Mai crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow, looking slightly uncomfortable with how the fabric smashed her chest. She'd been complaining about the chest being too tight for years now, but nobody seemed to get around to getting her a looser uniform. At least she was used to wearing tight things, or else she would have thrown a fit by now.

“You just need to get out there and experiment, Yami!! Yuugi is your opportunity. I think you'll be fine with talking to him; everything will go okay, don't worry about things getting awkward. You're natural around him Yami, I can tell.” Mai claimed. Yami shook his head. He loved her, but she got way too involved in his personal life sometimes.

“I'll be fine without experimenting. If it's meant to happen, it'll happen. Now, are we going to go see Mokuba, or what?” Yami asked, hoping for a subject change. Mai's reaction was not good.

Her face turned gloomy and her posture changed, her lips tightening into a displeasured half-grimace. Her arms tightened around her and she shifted back, her eyes falling to the floor. Suddenly, the tone of the conversation had taken a dramatic turn. Yami shuffled his feet awkwardly, trying to get rid of the sudden awareness that came with Mai's silence. She nodded her head curtly.

“We still have other options, that treatment for the other boy is working. We're starting him on that. For now, he's coughing and his white blood cell count is dangerously low. We should go and see if we can cheer him up. His brother might be there now, though.” Mai said, letting her tight look soften a bit as she gave a small frown. Yami shook his head, taking a shaky breath and frowning, too. He knew that this had to be hard on Mai. It was pretty hard on him, too.

“Let's.” Yami signed, turning quickly and offering his arm to Mai. She gave a small smile before her hand wrapped around his forearm and she took a step closer, comforted by one thing that had always been constant in her life; Yami.

They walked together in silence, approaching the room, until suddenly, Mai froze. Her entire body stiffened, and her eyes stopped as she listened. Yami felt curiosity overcome him as she looked back to him and started walking again, faster and looking concerned. Yami could only let himself be led along and hope that an explanation was to come soon.

As they rounded the corner, he knew that she had seen.

Yami stared in shock as he slowly registered what was happening. His body froze as his eyes darted across the scene, trying to see around the ridiculously long coat of Seto Kaiba. He felt anger flare up in him as he realized that behind the coat, pushed up against the wall, was Yuugi.

Yuugi was hunkered down in fear, shaking as his closed eyes looked for nothing. Seto pushed him harder against the paneling, his hands roughly digging into Yuugi's shoulders. His eyes showed hatred and sadness, anger overcoming everything else. Yami felt his own burst of fierce protectiveness over Yuugi, and he marched forward, rolling up his sleeves as he glared at Seto with all of the anger he could muster.

He put his hand on Seto's shoulder and yanked him around, his eyes glaring holes into Seto's blue ones. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Mai dart forward and grab Yuugi's hand, pulling him into a tight embrace and soothingly mumbling in his ear.

Yami started to sign, using all of his willpower not to punch Seto in the face. Since he knew that the violent act would most likely be frowned upon, he had to settle for cussing him out in a language he didn't understand and hoping it made him uncomfortable enough to get his point across. He signed every single bad word he knew, and Seto glared at him indifferently, waving a hand aside.

Yami hated him more than anything in that moment. Didn't he know what he had done? He had taken someone completely harmless and scared them out of their mind, somebody who just happened to be ten times the person Seto himself would ever be, Yami was sure of that much. Now, not only was he acting like he was better than Jesus, but he was looking off in the distance like this whole thing had inconvenienced him _so much_. He wanted to slam him against the wall, to force him to feel the terror he forced upon Yuugi.

Yuugi. Yuugi wouldn't want him to do that, though. Yami didn't know how he knew, he just did. It was like a feeling deep down inside, like an infallible intuition that whispered to him not to do it. If he did that, he would be no better than Seto himself. What he _really_ needed to do right now was to make sure that Yuugi was okay, and learn what happened. If he fought, he'd be lowering himself to Seto's level. Seto wasn't worth it. Yuugi would want Yami to let him go.

So, Yami reluctantly pushed off, shaking with the effort to control himself. Seto stepped forward and looked down the hallway, intending to leave right then. Yami looked toward Yuugi, who was now clinging to Mai and repeating something over and over again, and by the time he looked back, Seto was halfway down the hallway. Yami felt his rage slowly begin to fade away, as if it was an ink drop now deluded in a bucket of fresh water. However, as the anger faded, he found that the deludent was an overwhelming amount of concern.

He turned back towards Yuugi, his eyebrows furrowing in worry as he walked over to Mai, standing beside the two of them. Mai unwrapped her arms from Yuugi, mumbling something to let him know that she was still here, and said, “He's been asking for you over and over. He's not crying any more, but he's pretty shaken up.”

Yami nodded his head and, without putting second thought into it, reached out to pull Yuugi into his arms.

Yuugi slowly began to relax, the anxiety fading away from his body. It reminded Yami of the way the black of night slowly slunk away to become day; Yuugi was letting go of what had happened and hugging him back. Yami inhaled deeply, letting in Yuugi's natural, vanilla-esque scent. He pulled him in in earnest now, gripping at him tightly as he ran a hand along Yuugi's back. He trembled a little more before he finally stop, and Yami felt a couple of warm breaths blown into his sweatshirt.

Yuugi slowly pulled away, shuffling his feet as he awkwardly backtracked.

“What was that all about?” Yami asked, reaching out subtly to nudge one of Yuugi's hands. To his delight, the hand was taken and Yuugi stepped just the slightest bit closer again, accepting the extra comfort now that he knew Yami was happy to give it. Yami thought that Yuugi was probably more than shaken up, and he noted dully that he was still clutching the blue flower to his chest.

“Apparently, Yuugi's nurse got an emergency call and forgot that she had another patient to attend to. So, Yuugi was left wandering around for a little while. He was trying to find his room when he bumped into Seto, who demanded to know whether or not he was blind, and insisted that Yuugi should watch where he was going. Yuugi was too shocked to respond, and Seto got angry and pushed him up against the wall. I heard him yelling and started walking faster, and well... you were there for the rest of it.” Mai said. Yami knew that he was making a face.

“So, do you think Seto realizes yet that Yuugi is literally blind?” Mai asked after a long moment of silence. Yami didn't want to let go of Yuugi's hand to respond, so he shrugged and lifted one hand, spelling out what he needed to say instead of using both hands. Comforting Yuugi right now was more important than his own convenience.

“If he does, he doesn't care. He's a douche bag. Will you please tell Yuugi all the things I called him?” Yami asked, pulling Yuugi just a little closer. Mai's eyes drifted down to their interlocked hands, (Yami knew she was aware that he was spelling because he didn't want to let go, but he was too concerned with Yuugi to worry about fuelling her suggestions) and she raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment at the moment.

“I wouldn't repeat half of those things Yami, I'm a lady. Who knew you had the hands of a sailor?” She teased, and Yami playfully glared at her. She giggled and Yuugi stirred, his hand tugging at Yami's slightly as he stepped forward, talking to Mai for a bit. Mai responded to him, breaking out of her cheery mood and saying something calmly. Yuugi shook his head no.

“What?” Yami asked simply, looking to Mai to explain. She exchanged one final sentence with Yuugi before she turned back.

“He said he doesn't want his nurse to get in trouble, she was attending to another patient. I have a feeling that the hospital wouldn't be too keen to know she's left Yuugi alone, but I honestly can't help it if he doesn't want to say anything. He suits himself.” Mai said, looking dissaproving. When she was done with the spiel, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave a small smile, displaying a healthy dose of that attitude she possessed. Yami was certain that if he could hear her voice, he would be able to distinguish it in her every sentence, as much as he could distinguish it now in her every movement. There was just something so... irreplaceably _Mai_ about her.

“Well, I can see his point, but he deserves to be punished.” Yami said. Mai shrugged.

“You try telling _him_ that.” She said flippantly. Yami rolled his eyes and set his head in his free hand for a moment, before using his fingers to comb through his bangs and nodding his head.

“Let's just move on for now. Do you think he'd be able to get a cane now, so he can tell where he's walking? I have the feeling he doesn't much like being babysat twenty-four hours a day.” Yami said. Mai considered it for a moment.

“He'd have to have somebody teach him the hospital, too, but I suppose he could get around a little on his own with a cane. It would certainly be a smart idea for emergencies like this.” Mai said. Yami nodded his head in agreement. “We should go and visit Mokuba now!” Mai suddenly blurted, her memory jogging as she realized that they had neglected to do what they had originally come here to do. Yami resisted the urge to face-palm over how entirely spontaneous it was at this point in the conversation, and was only able to resist because of the the commanding and determined set of Mai's body as she brought it up, as if it were the most obvious transition in the world. Maybe it was, to her.

“Okay. Do you think Yuugi would mind?” He questioned. Mai shook her head, smiling.

“I know he wouldn't, I took him to talk to Mokuba earlier this week and they loved each other. They played go-fish, I just whispered to Yuugi what cards he had in his ear and it worked out fine. All thanks to me thinking of that, of course.” Mai said, flipping her hair a bit.

“Don't they have the cards with the Braille numbers on top, too?” Yami asked curiously. He wanted to know if maybe he and Yuugi could play alone sometime; Yuugi could just write down what he wanted to ask Yami for and Yami could just offer Yuugi the card to feel the number that he needed to know if Yuugi had. Mai shook her head in affirmation as she turned, opening the door and flickering on the lights in Mokuba's room.

Yami wasn't prepared for Mokuba's condition.

He was attached to twice as many machines as usual, his bright eyes dingy with the haze of pain and discomfort. His arms clutched the sides of the bed, and Yami could see veins pushing at the skin, as if they were wild animals clawing to escape the cage of Mokuba's body. Maybe it was like that; maybe the sickness was getting tired of this fight, too. Maybe it was ready to strike Mokuba victim to escape the constant rampaging struggle. Mokuba's room smelled like a mixture of cleaner and the sickly sweet smell of disease just barely masked to the average person. Yami was sure Yuugi could smell it too, the way his nose scrunched up and his body slowed, as if reluctant to enter.

“Hey, Tiger.” Yami signed, finally releasing Yuugi's hand. Mokuba smiled up at him weakly, not bothering to take the energy to respond.

Mai started to walk around him, checking the various monitors and frowning before adjusting the medication; they were trying to wean him off of it bit by bit so he wouldn't go into withdraw, but they still needed to hurry with it because he needed to be starting the other medicine as soon as possible. She finally stepped away and Mokuba smiled up at her, moving his mouth to say something that Yami couldn't read. He didn't think it was 'hello', and he wondered what he had said.

Mai and him had a short interaction before he said something and she frowned, her eyes dropping down to the floor. She mumbled an apology followed by something else, and she put on a fake smile as she walked back towards Yami and Yuugi.

“He's not feeling the best right now, it would be better if we came back after he's had a nap.” Mai said, speaking as she signed so she could address both of them at once.

Yami could see the seriousness of the situation. Mokuba had _never_ turned down company, no matter who it came from. Mokuba was a social butterfly; Yami didn't even think it was _possible_ to see him in a state where he didn't want them around. He shook his head, letting his bangs fall in his face as he tried not to be discouraged.

He could almost understand why Seto was so upset now; Yami knew Mokuba was the only thing in the world that really mattered to him. It didn't excuse his behaviour, but it made more sense now.

As they walked out of the cold room, he clutched Yuugi's hand just a little tighter for support. Yuugi squeezed back, nuzzling Yami's arm with his head just the slightest bit.

He just hoped things would get better soon.

 


	6. An Old Friend Comes This Way

Chapter 5:

An old Friend Comes this Way

  
  


The routine that they settled in to was an easy one.

Yami felt like, for a couple of weeks, things were all in place. As you may know, life can be quite boring that way, but a couple weeks of it never hurt anyone. Well, anyone sane, that is.

Every day when Yami woke up, he'd run downstairs and meet Yuugi and Mai for breakfast. Yuugi was quiet even in these times, and Yami enjoyed watching his little quirks. After breakfast they'd walk together to school, Yuugi's hand secured in Yami's becoming something familiar and usual. Yami longed for it every time. After school, (and after Yami had ran to do his extracurriculars) he'd swing by again and take Yuugi on a walk of the hospital, leading him through the catacombs and to every nook and cranny Yami knew of; He didn't want Yuugi to get lost once he had his cane. Finally, Yami would drop Yuugi off in his room and go eat dinner, finding something else to occupy his time for a little while.

Mokuba had finally been weaned entirely away from the old medicine, and three days prior they had started him on the miracle juice that was saving the other kid. He'd been feeling a little better, but his body still needed time to adjust. That was okay, though; Mokuba was used by now to having to get used to things.

The days passed by in a blur, and Yami could feel that his heart belonged more and more to Yuugi with each passing day. He didn't know how-- it didn't make sense, granted, but it felt like he knew Yuugi deeper and deeper with every time they spent time together. He could feel the warmth and love that Yuugi provided and tried his best to start to incorporate that sort of kindness in himself. If Anna could have seen him now, she would have been proud of him; He was nice before, but now, he was _understanding._

Yuugi was changing things in him, slowly but surely. It was like the waves crashed onto the shore, taking just a little more sand as time passes, leaving behind logs and sticks and shells, subtly changing the beach until it looked entirely different. Yami felt like Yuugi was the ocean to his beach; he was changing, happier, a better place than he was before. Yuugi made him _want_ to be a better place.

Of course, at first, he had been wary. He'd actually considered that he might be going crazy, he'd seen it happen before. When he didn't start seeing things in the shadows or changing shape before his eyes, he slowly relaxed. What he felt was simply an incredibly strong emotional connection, and even if it had no explanation, he figured it was normal. Well, not quite normal, but not bad, either.

It was a Saturday in April when it happened. It was early April, and holding true to the norm, because rain had been pouring down the past few days, interrupted only by ice when it was cold enough to snow. Yami liked it better when it was rain; being in New York made him a little sick of the cold sometimes, and there was no way to escape it, especially with how cold the hospital was.

He walked around a corner with Yuugi in hand, intending to go to Mokuba's room. Mai had announced yesterday that Mokuba would probably be good enough to have a small visit from them the next, and both boys were eager to see the little rascal. They came up and eventually came to a stop right outside of Mokuba's door, Yami leaning up against the wooden railing and Yuugi following his lead, their interlocked fingers swaying lightly as they waited for Mai. Yami had been a little early on purpose, not wanting to miss any time with Mokuba.

Yuugi stirred, his head whipping to one side as it usually did when he heard something. There was something deeper in his expression, though, and a little unreadable. Was that... Confusion? Yami settled on confusion as he leaned forward, towards where Yuugi's head was, and he was almost hit when Yuugi gasped and backed up a couple of paces, his hand leaving Yami's.

Yami quickly stumbled back, and looked over Yuugi again to find that he was practically thrumming with excitement. His face was stretched into a wide smile and he almost shook with anticipation as he stood alert, starting to become antsy after a few moments of nothing emerging. Yami wished he could ask what was going on; curiosity burned at the edge of his mind, imprinting like a brand across his every thought. He knew he couldn't leave Yuugi alone to go see what it was, though, so he supposed he'd just have to wait and see what was coming.

Around the corner walked Mai, and Yami paused. She looked... Slightly perplexed, vaguely annoyed, and a little... flirtatious? He'd only ever seen one person make her look that way, only one person Mai had ever felt like that about...

Around the corner after her came Joey, his blonde hair hanging in his face just the slightest bit and his puppy dog brown eyes lit up with excitement as he gave a wave towards Yami. Yami stared in shock for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

Finally, everything fell into place as he saw the hospital name tag.

Joey had been there three years ago, a senior in high school and dealing with a rare form of cancer. It was easily treatable, but it was hard to convince his father (because his mother had been gone for awhile, taking his younger sister with her, it was just the two of them) that the procedures and tests were safe, and Joey had gotten worse as he waited for someone to finally agree that he could start treatment. The treatment had gone perfectly-- just as the doctor had predicted, but thanks to the delay had left him weaker than usual. As a result, Joey had stayed at the hospital for the entirety of six months, even graduating high school at the hands of Cecilia.

They had all three been the best of friends; Mai, Joey and him would spend hours together prowling the hospital, pulling pranks on some of the doctors, generally stirring up mischief. Of course, Joey had gone when he'd graduated, promising to come back when he got a nursing degree. He said that living in the hospital had given him a new appreciation for what went on in a place like this, and that he wanted to be a part of it for as long as he could.

Of course, Yami didn't actually expect him to come back. He'd had many people say that they were coming back after college and fail to do so, choosing a different path or being influenced by something else to start work at a different hospital. None of them had ever come back before now; granted Yami had a couple of years to wait for some of them.

Yami had been entirely convinced that Joey would be one of these cases-- He would find something that interested him more than hospital work, something that he would excel in and would flourish without a second thought to his old career opportunity. However, as long as Yami's eyes weren't deceiving him, Joey was standing in front of him, dressed for work beside Mai as a nurse.

“Look who decided to make a reappearance.” Mai said, trying to make herself look grumpy. Joey watched her hands work with intrigue, looking back to Yami. He said something to Mai and she shook her head in confirmation.

“Joey!” Yami signed. He waited no longer, stepping forward and grabbing his friend in a crushing hug. He inhaled the scent of pepperoni pizza and aftershave, a spicy kind of thing that showed Joey had at least _tried_ to smell nice today. Yami chuckled, happy at the fond memories that came flooding back to him.

He pulled away, beaming at his friend. He glanced over to find Mai smiling at him affectionately, shaking her head. He knew that Mai felt strongly for Joey; She had pretended like she resented him at first and he acted like he hated her attitude, but in reality, they couldn't be more close. They'd slowly overcome their impatience and disrespect of each other to be best friends towards the end of Joey's visit, even if they did still have their disagreements.

“Joey, how are you?” Yami asked, looking to Mai to translate. She opened her mouth and started to, but abruptly stopped, turning to Yuugi with her eyes widened. Soon, Joey followed suit, looking behind Yami and staring blankly at Yuugi, surprise evident on his features. They stood still for what seemed like forever, (when in reality it probably wasn't more than thirty seconds) and stared, seeming to be halted by an invisible force.

Yami eventually got curious enough to turn around and look at Yuugi himself, seeing his friend with a wide smile stretched across his face and his arm leaned against the walking rail, the skin around his eyes crinkling the slightest bit from how far upwards his lips were turned. He shook his head in disbelief, finally speaking to try and break the tension.

Suddenly, everything happened at once. Joey stepped around Yami and barrelled towards Yuugi, his arms wrapping around the boy and swinging him around a couple of times before Yuugi started squirming against his hold, complaining and pushing until Joey finally set him down. They both began to have a heated conversation, Joey concentrating more intently than Yami had ever seen. His lips pulled down in a frown as Yuugi talked. Yami turned to Mai, his eyes begging for an explanation.

“Apparently, those two know each other. Remember when Joey said he used to go to a private school on a scholarship for dodge ball?” Mai asked, still looking vaguely stunned. Yami nodded his head, feeling surprise radiate through him, too. “Apparently, it was Yuugi's old school, too.” Mai said. Yami stood silently, trying to process the new information, and Mai turned towards the two friends.

Once Yami was certain he had comprehended right, and that Yuugi and Joey really did know each other, he turned back to the two of them, smiling broadly.

He fought to keep his smile in place.

Yami wasn't sure why, but looking at Joey talking to Yuugi like that, an arm carelessly draped around his shoulder as if it had always belonged there, and his face stretched up into an (admittedly handsome) grin, made his stomach give a jolt. He shook his head and widened his eyes considerably, turning away again and breathing out a puff of air. It was silly to feel any bad way; this was great! They could all hang out together, as a group now!

Yami turned back, keeping his smile genuine this time. He watched as Yuugi and Joey exchanged a few words and Yuugi laughed. Though Yami couldn't hear it, he was convinced that if he could, laughter would be his favourite sound in the world. Yuugi threw his head back and let go; there was a certain kind of lightness in the way he held himself now, as if he hadn't known that Joey was okay until today. Knowing how Joey was about long distance friendships, Yami knew that they had probably drifted away after Joey graduated.

Mai stepped forward after a couple of minutes and put her hand firmly in between the two, pulling them apart from one another. She 'tsk'ed' and leaned forward to open Mokuba's door, walking in as if she owned the place. Yami, and Joey shared looks before both of them stepped forward to follow Mai into the room, Yami reaching down to grab Yuugi's hand, grateful that he got to keep his position in assisting Yuugi, rather than the responsibility getting passed off to Joey.

The machines incessant whines annoyed Yuugi; Yami could tell by the way his ear moved slightly back, as if cringing itself from the noise. Yami was far past wishing he could hear, but at this point, he couldn't help but wonder what the sound was like. He knew that certain people could hear even the most unpleasant sounds, for example, Joey could hear dog whistles. Actually, Mai had teased him about it for months when he first got there, blowing a dog whistle whenever she needed him to do something or just generally missed his company. No matter where he had been in the hospital, he'd come slinking towards the sound, his head hung low and annoyance sketched onto his face as he demanded to know what she wanted. Yami thought that these were some of his favourite memories of Joey and Mai.

Yami watched as Mai went around Mokuba, grabbing random tubes and checking things and shooting some liquid into his IV. She talked as she worked, most likely explaining to Joey why Mokuba was so important to her. Yami knew that Joey had left a couple of months at least before Mokuba had gotten here, so Joey was entirely clueless as to how important Mokuba was to both of them.

As she spoke, Joey paid rapt attention, and she was only interrupted for questions a couple of times. Mokuba added in a couple of sentences after she was done speaking, smiling broadly at Joey and putting out his hand to shake. Joey immediately took his hand and vigorously shook, nodding his head and talking enthusiastically. Mokuba bounced up an down with every shake until Joey was done, laughing a bit with the jumps. When Joey finally noticed that he was being too rough, he dropped Mokuba's hand and put his own hands behind his back, sheepishly mumbling something.

After that small exchange, Mokuba asked in sign language and out loud if there was any way they could play cards. Mai and Joey shared a glance, grinning as they thought of what they should play. Mai turned to Yuugi and asked him something, (presumably something along the lines of, “Do you think you'll be able to read Braille numbers?”) and Yuugi shook his head. As soon as she had the affirmation, she turned around and bent over, rummaging through the drawers for some cards.

She emerged triumphant, a simple pack of playing cards in her hands. Her face was set to a dangerous smirk as she sauntered over to the group, swinging Mokuba's food tray around so that it could be used as the playing card table. She began to shuffle as the rest of the group crowded around, Yami leading Yuugi over to the table and all eagerly awaiting the deal.

Mai eventually finished shuffling, her hands stalling before switching positions and putting cards down in front of each member, five in all. When she was finished, she set the leftover cards down in the centre of the table, and each respective member reached forward and took their piles, Yuugi having his pushed into his hands by Yami.

Everybody looked at their cards and then up and around at their opponents, (well, everyone except for Yuugi), giving some extra time so Yuugi could be sure of which cards he actually had. Once he gave a nod and told Mai to start the game, she went first.

“Does anybody have a four?” She asked, quickly signing what she wanted to Yami. Mokuba pouted before he passed over one of his cards. Yami watched as Mai set down a pair, noticing then that Joey had already put down a pair of his own, having gotten one from their first hand. Yami could remember that Joey had good luck, but his luck was no match for Yami's own.

It got around to Yuugi's turn and Yuugi asked for a three, Mai quickly translating as usual, and Yami found that he actually had a three. He handed it over to Yuugi, smiling a little bit. Yuugi set the two cards down side by side on the table, his nose scrunching up adorably right before he sneezed into his elbow. Yami chuckled and Yuugi turned towards him, smiling broadly.

Suddenly, he looked away, a lovely shade of pink spreading across his features, as if he had just been caught in something. Yami turned to Mai confusedly and she raised her hands, her eyebrow arched as high as was physically possible. “Joey cleared his throat.” She explained. Yami resisted the urge to glare at Joey with every ounce of hatred he could muster up, and instead signed to Mai the number seven.

Joey had his card, and he reluctantly handed it over to Yami. Even if it was a little childish, it made Yami feel just the tiniest bit better.

As the game progressed, it became obvious that Mokuba, Mai, and Joey were way out of their league. Three turns in and Yami already had three matches down, rivalled only by Yuugi, who had the same. Through the entire game, the other players were competing for third place as Yami and Yuugi stayed neck and neck.

Finally, they had both come down to holding their last card. Yami narrowed his eyes, sparkling with humour and excitement. The rules of the game was that the first person to go entirely out of cards would end the game, and whomever had the most amount of card pairs at the end would win. Yuugi stood with a dangerous smirk, angling his body away so that Yami couldn't see his cards. Not that Yami would, he was more respectable than that, but it was more out of force of habit than anything. He tapped his last card thoughtfully; the game had come to his turn, and he pursed his lips slightly, delaying the inevitable. Yami loved the tension, and he was practically on the edge of his seat.

Slowly, Yuugi held up three fingers, smirking. Yami's mouth almost fell open as he looked in between Yuugi's hand and his own last card, disbelieving of the three glaring up at him.

He handed the three over top Yuugi and Yuugi ran his hand over the top, where the Braille was situated right above where a normal person would read it. He smiled and set them down, officially ending the game.

Mai and Joey stared in shock at the card, looking back and forth between Yami and Yuugi. It wasn't long before Yuugi found Joey practically tackle-hugging him and congratulating him, Mokuba nodding approvingly in the background while Mai teasingly insisted that it was a fluke, signing her opinion at Yami for good measure. Yami shook his head no; Yuugi had told him that he was good at games, and Yami believed that this was probably just how it was. Yuugi was apparently excellent.

However, it wasn't long until Mai had convinced them to try something else. They sat across from each other, Yami fiddling with his hair nervously as he was positioned directly opposite his opponent. Mai turned to Yuugi and explained what they were doing first before turning back to Yami and raising her hands, letting Joey shuffle the cards behind her while she explained.

“We're going to do a version of blackjack where I'll be the dealer. It's just like regular blackjack, except I'll put two cards in front of each of you and not take one myself. One of the cards will be flipped up, and you'll have to decide whether to hit or miss. You want your card amounts to add up to twenty one, and no higher. The highest number that's still below twenty one when the one card that remained face down is flipped up will win the game.” She explained. Yami nodded his head, waiting patiently to be dealt.

She set two cards in front of each of them, and the entire room was paying rapt attention to what was going on. Yami shifted in his seat, slightly uncomfortable, as his first card was flipped over. A ten.

Since there are so many cards in the deck that can equal ten, his other card is most likely a higher number. If he hit again and got anything other than an ace (which could be either an eleven or a one), it could be a problem. He motioned for Mai to stay and she turned to Yuugi, flipping over one of his cards.

He reached down and felt at the corner, nodding his head. The card was a queen, which had the value of ten. He motioned for Mai to hit him again. She raised her eyebrows and looked over at Yami as if to ask what he was thinking, and Yami shrugged his shoulders honestly. She pursed her lips as she slowly flipped over another card, a king. Yuugi felt it and nodded his head, and Yami smiled a bit to himself. The chances that the last card was an ace were incredibly small; Yuugi had dug his own grave when he asked to be hit again.

Yami smirked as his second card was flipped over; it was an ace. With the ten he already had, it made twenty-one. Not only that, but him having one of the aces lowered the chances that Yuugi's other card was an ace. He nodded to Mai and watched as she scooted over to Yuugi's side of the table and flipped over his card.

Yami stared in utter shock. The shiny red ace of hearts sat proudly on Yuugi's side of the table; they had just tied the game. Mai blinked a couple of times, looking back and forth between them before she turned back to Yuugi and shook her head, relaying the results. Joey came over to see for himself, scooting closer to Yuugi as he looked between his cards and Yami's. He mumbled something and Yuugi's face went bright red, Yuugi elbowing him in the ribs, hard.

Joey doubled over, rubbing his side and pouting slightly, probably mumbling something about Yuugi being stronger than he looks. Yami tilted his head at Mai and she rolled her eyes.

“Joey just said that 'Now we have the Queen of Games, too!', and Yuugi apparently didn't find it funny.” She relayed. Yami blushed a bit too, deciding to play it up. After all, “you only live once” _should_ be implied to situations like this. He may never get such an opportunity again.

“Well, tell him I'd be _perfectly_ fine with him as my queen.” Yami signed. Mai raised an eyebrow but turned to Yuugi without comment, relaying the message to him.

Yuugi's face lit up red again as he mumbled a thank you, his head turning down towards the ground as if he was watching his own feet shuffle out of habit. He looked so cute and flustered that Yami wondered why he hadn't said anything like that sooner; after all, even if he didn't know what his sexuality was yet, he could still flirt, right?

Suddenly, the door swung open, letting in a cool draft from the hallways. Yami turned his head to look at the opening, finding Rebecca, standing with a hand on her hip and a clipboard in the other hand. She walked in and looked around, locating a table and setting her clipboard down before turning to Yami frantically.

“Yami, I need your help. There's a little boy who's absolutely in hysterics over something, we can't pinpoint what exactly, and he won't talk to me. I think he feels intimidated by adults.” he suggested, shrugging her shoulders. Yami paused, looking at the tied game before him and then back to Rebecca. This boy might have something important that needs to be done...

“Of course, I'll follow you. Mai, tell Yuugi I said goodbye.” Yami said, squeezing away from Mokuba's bed and towards the door, working his way towards Rebecca and following her out the open door.

He hadn't gotten to see much of Rebecca lately; they were taking care of a second deaf child, trying to teach her to read lips, and it seemed like there was a sudden increase in the amount of people coming in to have their children evaluated, and well... she _was_ a doctor, too. If they needed staff, she had to go and help out. So, for the most part, Yami had used Mai as his translator or all together avoided interactions with people whom didn't know how to speak sign language.

He followed her down hallways and around rooms, eager to get to talk once all of this was over. She had been gone for far too long, and he missed her to no end.

Eventually, they were in the wing of the hospital where disabled kids had their appointments. Yami had been here a million times before, so he knew how intimidating it could be sometimes. She opened up the door to go back, and Yami stepped through it, eyes searching intently for the boy who had become the problem. When he came up with nothing, he turned back to Rebecca for further instruction, realizing then that she had walked down the hallway to his right.

He jogged to catch up; She was probably stressed right now, and there was no need to mention that she had left him behind if he didn't have to. Besides, he was where he needed to be now, and she was briskly leading him to... Well, he didn't know.

Finally, she stopped, turning on her heel and looking at Yami. He noted that there were bags under her eyes, and her skin was a little paler than usual. Her usually pristine hair had some strands out of place or sticking up, and she clutched her clipboard to her body just a little too tightly. She hadn't been getting much sleep lately, Yami supposed. He thought he should talk to the hospital about maybe getting a second translator, maybe claiming that Rebecca's work was hindering his ability to interact or something like that. Then, maybe she could at least get a break every once in awhile.

“I'm going to warn you that this little devil has been kicking us for the past hour. Don't assume anything, he might be distressed but he's also a brat.” She told Yami firmly. Yami shook his head, nose crinkling in distaste. He'd seen enough of those kids. It was one thing when they acted like that because they were going to get a shot; it was a whole 'nother ball game when they just wanted to be tyrants.

She turned back and lifted her hand, shaking, to the door. The handle turned smoothly under her gentle touch, and she pulled the door open quickly, standing behind it to let Yami through first.

The room was an absolute wreck. There were crayons and torn paper everywhere, stains on the ceiling, (is that jelly? Where did the kid even get jelly in the hospital?) and he was running around like a whirlwind, his face red and mouth open in what Yami assumed to be a scream as he threw himself onto the table belly-first.

This was going to be a long day.

Three hours later, Yami walked out of the room with three new bruises, (a couple on his shins, and one on his ribs) what could only be presumed to be jelly in his hair, and a tired expression on his face. Rebecca was indefinitely grateful though, which in his opinion, made it worth the pain and effort. She shouldn't have to go through this alone, and they boy _did_ eventually talk to Yami, explaining that he just didn't like the doctors touching him. Yami had given out a frustrated sigh before calmly explaining to the boy that doctors had to touch him to help him get better and make sure he was doing all right. He had eventually relented, allowing the doctor to check him out and make sure that he didn't have a sinus infection. The mother had left about halfway through it to go and get some snacks and escape the chaos, and she was pleasantly surprised when she came back to find her son sitting well-behaved in the waiting room with a sucker in his mouth.

Now, Yami stood outside the office with Rebecca, who had lovingly wiped the jelly out of his hair, leaving a small portion wet but him in much better shape.

“I've missed you, Rebecca.” He told her pleasantly, then leaned forward to give her a hug. She laughed and pushed him off, shaking her head.

“I heard you haven't been thinking about me much with the way you've been looking at the new boy.” She teased him. Yami blushed dark crimson, his ears turning red as he shook his head no. She smiled and pushed him playfully again, her eyes sparkling. “Yami, it's not exactly a secret. The two of you walk around together constantly, hold hands, you look at him like he's the best thing that's ever happened to you... The entire hospital has already placed bets on how much longer you'll wait to kiss him.” Rebecca put in. Yami's mouth dropped open.

Mai hadn't told him any of that! Honestly, as his friend, he would _expect_ her to tell him when things like this happened! This was absolutely mortifying. Well, okay, not mortifying, but... He was slightly uncomfortable!

“Listen, I don't even know my sexual orientation right now, you can't expect me to throw everything away and kiss him, especially not knowing if he feels the same way.” Yami signed, shaking his head. It was hard to even admit that much, honestly. But he was coming to terms with the fact that he was questioning, and he knew that he trusted Rebecca more than anything in the world. She wouldn't tell anyone without his permission.

Rebecca's eyebrows rose. “Really? It seems pretty clear to me that you're Yuugi-sexual.” She insisted. Yami rolled his eyes and turned away, making a dismissive gesture at the accusation and blushing a bit. Honestly, just because he looked at somebody funny, everyone was freaking out.

“You'd better go and get lunch. I have break for ten more minutes before I have to go and work for another hour, and I know for a fact that Mai and Joey are waiting for you to go and eat. So you should probably go.” She insisted, giving Yami one final hug. Yami squeezed her back with everything that he had, not wanting to let go. She was being overworked to no end, but at least she got to go home in another hour. (Then again, that didn't help much when you considered that she was supposed to have Saturdays off).

Rebecca pulled away and turned, walking towards the large group of nurses who were crowded into the break room, gossiping and giggling. He watched her go sadly and waited until she was entirely out of his sight to turn, wishing that life could just be a little more simple. Maybe then Rebecca wouldn't be so overworked and he would actually _know_ what the heck was going on with his sexuality.

He started back towards Mokuba's room, figuring that even if they weren't there, they would be somewhere close. He walked for around ten minutes before he finally arrived, ducking his head into the room briefly to see that they had already gone. He said goodbye to Mokuba and walked out, deciding to try the waiting room closest to Mokuba's.

When he finally got there, he smiled as he saw the group. That is, until he got a strange feeling in his stomach.

Mai was standing up and talking elaborately, laughing every once in awhile as she told her story. Yuugi and Joey laughed along with her, sitting on the fluffy couch that had been put into the waiting room. Joey was sitting close to Yuugi, an arm carelessly slung around his shoulder, and Yuugi returned the affection, having his own arm around Joey's waist. They looked like the picture of friendship.

Yami snapped himself back to attention. He scolded himself. It's not like Joey was over there kissing Yuugi, and even if he was, it's not like Yuugi was actually Yami's boyfriend. There wasn't anything Yami could do about it, and getting jealous would only create unnecessary drama. Just because Joey had known Yuugi longer and had spent more time with him didn't necessarily mean that Yuugi liked him better anyway. Well, at least, Yami assumed so.

Actually, now that he thought about it, Yami didn't know _how_ Yuugi felt about him. It wasn't like he could just ask; Yuugi couldn't see the sign language, and having to go through Mai would be uncomfortable and embarrassing. Yami could only survive so much mortification, and having her ask a question like that would be off the scales, especially if the response was bad.

Suddenly, Yami was jealous of Joey. Not because he was over there being affectionate towards Yuugi, or because he had known him for longer, but because he could talk to him now. Yami couldn't dream of being as close to Yuugi as Joey could be, because Joey actually had the ability to _talk_ to him. Without being able to really talk to someone, while you could feel close to them, you couldn't ever really _know_ how they felt about you. Yami knew that, to truly be close to Yuugi, he would have to find some way they could communicate. Writing and hoping Yuugi understood what he was saying wasn't going to hold him over forever.

Yami frowned, giving a sigh as he put on a smile and continued forward, eventually plopping down on the couch next to Yuugi. Yuugi gave a jump as Yami sat, not expecting the shift in the furniture. When he realized that it was Yami (Yami was never sure _how,_ exactly Yuugi knew that it was him), he laughed, throwing his arms around the other boy in a warm hug. Yami thought his heart was melting.

Mai lifted her hands. “Are we going to go and get something to eat now, or what?”

They walked down to the cafeteria together, and Yuugi chose to hold Yami's hand instead of Joey's. Joey asked Mai if they should hold hands since “Everyone else seemed to be doing it!” and Mai retaliated with, “If everyone else was jumping off a cliff, now I _know_ you'd be stupid enough to follow suit”. (Of course, this conversation was relayed to Yami later.) Once they were there, they chose a nice, secluded table off to the side and ate together, Yuugi having trouble stabbing his food and Joey teasingly feeding him a bite, earning him an elbow in the ribs from Mai. Yuugi made it clear that it was okay when he picked up his fork and teasingly tried to feed Joey a bite back, smearing it all over his face and pretending like it was an accident. (“Must be because I'm blind!”).

They were soon finished and took their garbage to the garbage cans, dumped it in, and parted ways. Yami walked Yuugi back to his room before heading to his own, (after he dropped Yuugi off, he gave him a small peck on the cheek, blushing the entire time) and practically throwing himself down on his bed, feeling the long day begin to wear on him. Dinner wasn't for a couple more hours and he had nothing else to do, so he picked up his copy of _Game of Thrones_ and started reading.

He read the rest of the day, only stopping when the nurse brought dinner to his room. He wondered idly what Yuugi was doing, but for the most part, stayed concentrated on his book. He was four hundred pages into it by the time he fell asleep, the book still lying open on his chest while his eyes and body grew heavy. He slowly felt his consciousness fade into a restful oblivion.

It was hours later when he woke. The outside had been covered in the veil of night, and the room was dark except for his alarm clock, which proudly proclaimed that it was two o'clock in the morning. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and he could taste salt; the only thought that crossed his mind in its hazy state was, _water._ He stumbled out of bed and his feet shook as he stood, protesting their job of holding him up so late in the night. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes in attempt to clear the sleep from them, stumbling out in search of a cup.

He knew there was a cabinet of supplies on the other side of the hospital that would have something he could drink out of, so he walked out of the room and proceeded to twist his way through the hospital, walking the least busy hallways so as not to be questioned. He wanted to get there and back as quickly as possible; he would be tired all day tomorrow if he didn't hurry back to bed.

Finally, he reached his destination, locating the nearest sink, (he just went into an empty room) filling up his cup and drinking. His whole body went slack when he finally tasted the water, the cool refreshment music to his parched throat. He drank the entire cup twice before throwing it in the trash can and wiping off his mouth, walking out the door and heading on his way back to his bedroom. This wasn't the first time he had gotten up in the middle of the night, and most certainly wouldn't be his last.

However, on his way back, something seemed... _off._ He passed down a hallway a couple of hallways down from his, and one of the doors was slightly ajar. He felt curiosity bubble up; sleeping patients were supposed to have their doors shut, and he knew this room specifically to be Yuugi's. He'd been walking him back here every night after their adventures, for the past two weeks, so he knew he wasn't mistaken. He wondered if a nurse had just forgotten to shut it; they did that sometimes, and Yuugi wouldn't be able to go and shut it himself. Yami wondered if he should go and shut it for him.

As he approached, something still seemed wrong. His hand hesitated on the cool steel of the door, uncertain in what to do. He bit his lip and shook his head, feeling indecision rise up in him like a tidal wave. Should he check and see what, if anything, was wrong?

 _Well, it couldn't hurt, could it?_ Thought Yami, sliding the door open the slightest bit. He peeked his head in slowly, curiosity thrumming through his veins.

What he saw surprised him. The moonlight reflected off the tile of the floor, the shape of a glass with a dead blue flower illuminated in shadow. Through the pale moonlight, Yami could see Yuugi's form hunched over, his face in his hands, shoulders shaking with sadness like Yami had never seen before. Without thinking, he stumbled in, and Yuugi's head shot up.

He froze, not entirely sure what to do. Yuugi looked distressed, but if he were to reveal himself, Yuugi may think that he was spying in the first place. He didn't want Yuugi to get angry or think he was a pervert, but he looked so distressed... He'd like to think that despite not being able to talk, Yuugi knew him better than that. With that thought, he took a couple steps forward, slowly shutting the door behind him. Nobody else needed to see Yuugi like this; he didn't know how Yuugi felt about other people seeing him upset, but there must be a reason he's crying on his own.

Yuugi said something indistinguishable, scooting back as if he were frightened. Yami cleared his throat, hoping that Yuugi may recognize the sound. It must have worked, because he said something that looked to Yami an awful lot like his name. He stepped forward a couple more steps, noting the exact moment when Yuugi visibly relaxed. He kept his pace nice and slow though, making sure that Yuugi wasn't frightened. He wanted to comfort him, not scare him away.

Eventually he walked up beside Yuugi, heart throbbing in his chest. He reached out gently to touch Yuugi's cheek, his hand cupping Yuugi's jaw as his thumb swiped away a tear. Another one soon replaced it, and Yami did his best to keep himself from being discouraged. He leaned forward and kissed this one away, pressing his body closer to the bed.

Yuugi shifted, on his knees in front of Yami. He leaned into his touch, wrapping his arms around the other's waist and pulling him closer. Yami let out a hum of approval and placed a second kiss to Yuugi's forehead, ignoring the tears that kept coming. They stood there in the comfortable silence that had accumulated, for how long, Yami wasn't sure. Yuugi eventually put his head down on Yami's shoulder, the hand that was cupping his face coming to rest naturally on his shoulder. Yami closed his own eyes as Yuugi began to shake as he had before, crying into Yami's shoulder. He rubbed his hand up and down between Yuugi's shoulder blades, letting him get it all out.

It escalated before it got better; Yuugi's whole form was shaking and Yami could feel tears soak through his shirt as Yuugi clung to him. He held Yuugi close as he cried, burying his own face in Yuugi's hair and inhaling his vanilla scent. He let everything else in life go; in this moment, at this point in time, all that mattered to him was Yuugi.

Eventually, after the hardest of the sobs had subsided and the tears were coming less and less often, Yuugi pulled away. Yami reluctantly let him go, wondering what was happening. He felt a sloppy kiss placed on his cheek, and Yuugi scooted back in his bed, patting the place beside him. Yami stared blankly, unsure what to make of it, until Yuugi scooted under the covers and lifted them up, waving his hand as if to say, “Come closer.”

Yami finally felt the pieces connect in his head and he sheepishly crawled into the bed, trying to stay on what he designated as “his side”. As soon as he was comfortable, though, he felt Yuugi scoot over and lay his head down on his chest, curling up against him in the cold room. He made a mental note to get Mai to ask Yuugi if he'd like to have his heat turned up.

Yami wrapped an arm around his friend, leaning back comfortably on the pillows as he felt the rhythmic rise and fall of Yuugi's chest against his side. He closed his eyes, wondering what made Yuugi sad. Maybe he could help. But he knew that seeing a person like that would be much too intimate to ask Mai to translate, and he didn't want to bring it up later and have Yuugi upset again. He would ask Yuugi about it when the time came. And he would ask him _himself._

He could feel the exact moment that his mind was made up.

This had gone on too long. He needed to learn how to speak. Something had to be done about this situation; he was too emotionally invested at this point to back out of it now. He was going to get to know Yuugi, they were going to spend time together talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company, without a translator.

Something else had been decided, too. He may not be gay; he may not be bi. In fact, he may not be anything at all. All he really knew, though, was that he _liked_ Yuugi. Maybe it was even love.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please kudos or review!


	7. Learning The Language

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the response this last chapter got on fanfiction.net and wattpad. You guys are amazing~ And thanks for the AO3 people who are reading, I know you're there. You're just awfully quiet ;-)

Chapter 6:

Learning the Language

  
  


The next day, Yami had gotten up early and marched into the language department, asking for an appointment as soon as possible. The woman behind the desk had immediately called back and requested that the speech therapist make an exception to see Yami without a scheduled appointment (because they had been waiting for him to finally cave). As soon as she received confirmation, she stood up and escorted him back to the speech room, leaving him waiting outside the large wooden door.

Yami looked up at it, slightly overwhelmed and a little edgy. It was large and ornately carved, gleaming in the low light. It almost felt like it was built specifically to intimidate those waiting outside it. He felt like he was in a courthouse rather than a hospital.

Slowly, it began to creak open, gleaming in the pale light as it hit the adjacent wall. On the other side was a man who was dressed in a red velvet suit from head to toe, grey hair hanging loosely around his shoulders. His right eye gleamed with a golden replacement, the shape of an eye carved onto it. In his left hand he loosely held a wine glass that Yami knew couldn't be filled with actual wine. He stood up straight, his stature intimidating as Yami was short himself. He gave a shaky intake of breath before sticking out his hand for the man to shake.

“Ahh, Yami-boy!” The other signed, before grabbing his hand and shaking it fondly. “My wife has told me so many things about you! Come in, come in!” He announced extravagantly, flipping his hair. Yami gulped.

“Your wife?” Yami signed, tilting his head to the side. The man reached up for his name tag and grabbed it, tilting it downwards for Yami to read. Printed across it in elegant handwriting was the name _'Pegasus J. Crawford'_ , and something tugged at the back of Yami's mind. “You're Cecilia's husband?”

He smiled, placing his hands together fondly as he nodded his head. He lifted them again as soon as he was done, and his intention to say something was clear as day. “My _darling_ Cecilia has told me so many good things about you! You're one of her favourite students! I've been waiting for the day I'd get to take you under my wing for ages now!” He said. Once he had finished his speech, he immediately stepped to the side and gestured for Yami to come in.

Yami tentatively walked into the room, seeing a couple of mirrors along a side wall and a television in the far right corner. In the very centre of the room sat a large, wooden desk with a pitcher of whatever Pegasus was drinking on it, and a second cup in front of a large pile of files and paperwork. Yami felt himself drawn to it as he took a couple more clumsy steps forward, eventually coming to stand in front of the chair. He ran a hand along the top before Pegasus came around the desk and sat in his own chair, gesturing for Yami to do the same.

Yami sat in the chair, bouncing lightly as he sunk into the red velvet cushion. He put his hands on the sides of the chair, the wood scraped from years of fingernails biting into it. The room no longer reminded him of a courthouse, but of an old fashioned principle's office. At least Pegasus had the decency to smile and lighten the atmosphere. Yami thought that if he didn't, he would have gone mad.

“So, you want to learn how to speak, is that correct?” Pegasus asked. Yami tore his eyes from where they were wandering the room, (he had currently been looking at the thin woodworking on the ceiling, the repetitive knots and swirls capturing his interest) looking back to Pegasus and nodding his head yes enthusiastically. He gave a small huff and straightened up a little, repeating his answer firmly. Pegasus nodded his head, his smile growing wider.

“I assume your translator has been saying what she signs as she signs it, yes?” Pegasus asked. Yami hesitated before shaking his head no.

“Sort of, but not really. We haven't been spending much time together because I've been talking to a friend of mine for the most part, and she hasn't been doing that. Even when Rebecca _did_ talk like that I never paid attention to her lips. I didn't actually want to learn until now.” Yami admitted. Pegasus's eyebrows rose, his face having slowly lost its smile and turning to a more businesslike state as Yami elaborated.

“What made you change your mind, if I may ask?” Pegasus questioned. Yami hesitated, unsure of what to tell him. On one hand, he wouldn't know who Yami was talking about if he admitted that it was because of someone else's influence. On the other hand, with the rumours he heard were going around the hospital, Pegasus just mentioning something to the wrong person could mean it got around to everyone. Yami wanted the whole thing to be a surprise to Yuugi, and somebody could blow the secret.

“I just felt like it was time.” He said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. Pegasus didn't look like he bought it, and he looked Yami up and down for a good thirty more seconds before he finally decided not to push and leaned back, taking out a pen and a piece of paper. Before he started writing, though, he glanced back up and set the pen down.

“Do you think your friend could start talking to you out loud as she's signing?” Pegasus asked, raising his eyebrow again. Yami nodded his head, confident that Mai would be able to help him out if he asked her to. He knew that Mai would keep it a secret, too. “Good.”

Pegasus picked up the pen again, lifting it to his lips and setting it against them for a moment, as if contemplating what words to use. Finally, he put the pen back onto the paper and began to write. Yami leaned forward eagerly, slightly impatient to see what Pegasus was writing and curious beyond belief. He couldn't make anything out, so he slumped back down in his chair and blew away a stray piece of his bangs, trying to keep himself occupied until he would be rewarded with the knowledge of what he was to do.

Finally, Pegasus scooted the note across the table, gesturing towards the door. “I have other patients who actually had appointments that I need to see now, you're going to make the whole day run behind if you stay any longer.”

Yami nodded and grabbed the paper, not yet glancing at the scrawly writing. He nodded his head mutely as he left, and the door let out a large woosh of air as it shut on it's own behind him. He looked both ways to make sure nobody was watching before he walked out to the waiting room, passing a couple of young children presumably on their way to see Pegasus on his journey.

When he was finally outside of the language centre, he stopped, lifting the hand that held the paper up and squinting at the faded lines. Pegasus looked like the kind of person who would enjoy vintage, and his old wrinkly paper only proved that theory. Yami wanted to grumble about old people and never getting anything new, and he was delighted by the knowledge that soon, he would be able to.

The note's instructions were clear and simple. ' _Talk to your friend more. Please do watch her lips and her hands at the same time, try more and more to look exclusively at her lips while she speaks. The same can go for television if you're up for it; turn on the subtitles, and try to watch their lips. Report back to me in a week with what progress you've made._ '

Yami stared at the note, nodding his head as a smile stretched across his face. He could do this. He just needed some time and effort, and he'd be speaking like a hearing person.

At least, he hoped it would be that easy.

Later that day, he was standing by the break room, waiting for Mai to go on her break. He fiddled with his bracelet nervously, unsnapping and re-snapping the silver buttons absent mindedly. He glanced up from his wrist, looking around the hallways again in search of his friend. He tapped his foot impatiently.

Around the corner came Mai, carrying a stack of paperwork and smiling from ear to ear. She looked off into the distance as if she was daydreaming, and walked forward without really paying attention to where she was going. She almost bumped into Yami, and he snapped his fingers, forcing her out of the trance-like state. She snapped out of it in a hurry, looking around before her eyes met Yami's and she blushed, pushing some of her hair behind her ear as she cleared her throat.

“Somebody's distracted.” Yami commented. Mai shook her head and opened the door to the break room, going in. Yami chuckled before he followed behind her, happy to find that they were the only two currently using the room. She set her things down on the table before she turned back to him, smiling smally as she pretended to be annoyed.

“What is it you want now?” She asked, not waiting for the answer before she pulled out her lipstick and put on a fresh layer, popping her lips together and looking back to Yami. He waited patiently for her routine to be over before he talked, using the time to work up the nerve to ask her what he wanted to ask.

“I... I'm learning how to speak.” He announced awkwardly. Mai's eyes widened as she heard the news, both of her eyebrows raising. She knew what this was about, Yami was sure.

“I'm glad you're finally taking the initiative. What's the catch? You wouldn't have mentioned it right now unless you needed something.” She said wisely. Yami scratched his head, smiling a bit. Mai was right, he probably would have waited until he knew more to tell her, even if Yuugi wasn't here. He would worry that he would give up, and it would be embarrassing having to admit that to somebody else. Of course, with Yuugi here, he knew that he wasn't. He had a reason to keep pushing forward, a motivation. Yuugi was proving to be one of the best things that ever happened to Yami, and they had barely talked.

“Well, I'm supposed to learn how to read lips first. To do that, I wanted to ask... Well, it would help me a lot if you would talk while you sign from now on, so I can see the way your lips move when you form words. Do you think you could do that?” He asked. Mai laughed, her eyes sparkling.

“Of course I can do that. Yami, you're my friend. You hardly even needed to ask.” She gushed. Yami felt warmth zing through his body; Mai was amazing.

“Thank you, so much. You know I'm grateful.” He informed her, resisting the urge to smile like an idiot. Mai gave a sigh and nodded.

“So, I'm right in assuming this is about Yuugi, right?” She asked, speaking while she signed. Yami tried to focus on both her lips and her hands at the same time, and he had to replay the scene in his mind once to actually make himself comprehend what she was saying. When he did, he blushed, looking down at the ground guiltily and nodding his head yes.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Mai might not participate in the gossip, but being a nurse, she certainly heard enough of it. He wondered if she had known about the other nurses thinking he and Yuugi were going to be together? If so, why hadn't she told him sooner?

“Hey Mai, did you know about the nurses making bets on how long it would be until Yuugi and I kissed?” Yami asked, narrowing his eyes. Mai cleared his throat and looked down, placing a finger to her lip and flashing her eyes up, trying to look innocent. Yami thought it was the most sorry excuse he'd ever seen, if innocence was her goal.

“Maybe.” She admitted, removing the hand from her mouth so she could “speak”. Yami tried to focus on the way her mouth moved when she pronounced the word-- but not for long. He felt embarrassment bloom up inside him like a flower.

“Did you make a bet?” He asked, deciding not to get angry at her. She paused, her mouth pursing as she did. She cleared her throat a bit, and Yami could see her chest move up and down as she did. She looked back down again, and he knew he wouldn't like the answer he got.

“I bet on two months. From now.” She admitted sheepishly. Yami's let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. “The other nurses all bet on sooner than that, but I know you're too much of a wimp to get up the courage any sooner.” She said, returning to her usual pompous air. Yami tried again to focus on both the shape her mouth made and her actual answer, and for a moment, he found it to be disorienting. He steeled himself, forcing his mind to process what she said, before he realized that he should probably be offended. He glared at her.

“I am not a _wimp,_ I'm _strategic_. I just wait until the time is right to make my move.” Yami announced, puffing out his chest and smirking. He had to regain some of his manliness; Yuugi had been making him blush an awful lot lately. “That's what makes me King of Games.”

“All right then. But just so you know, being 'strategic' didn't help Joey when he asked me out.” She said. Yami, had he been holding something, probably would have dropped it when that sunk in. He felt his eyes widen and his own brows raise. He knew that Joey had liked Mai when they were hanging out last year-- he would never shut up about her. As soon as it was just them and Rebecca, Joey had nothing to talk about except how angry she made him or how pretty she looked that day, (of course, Joey _was_ a teenage boy, so some of his comments were a little on the crude side) so it wasn't that hard to figure out. Yami was just curious now, as to if Mai felt the same way.

Back when they were all younger, she had constantly made jokes about Joey being a minor and too young for her. He pretended to be offended at times or pretended to not care others, but it really was something Mai took into consideration. Yami didn't know if she was now willing to get over the fact that Joey was so much younger than her, or if she had turned him down. But when she was walking here earlier, she had affection written all over her eyes.

She had liked Joey, too, Yami was sure. She was constantly teasing him and flirting-- Joey hadn't developed his crush off of nothing. She laughed with him and teased him endlessly and spent an outrageous amount of time with him. There was no way that she didn't like him back, at least to an extent. So, really, Yami should have expected this. What he wasn't expecting, was for Joey to have the guts to actually ask Mai out.

“What did you say to him?” Yami asked first, not wanting to assume anything he didn't know for sure.

“Well...” Mai began.

_Joey had been walking to the vending machines, his shift having just ended. He wasn't all too happy with having the shift right before Mai's-- not only was it early in the morning, but he didn't get to spend much time with his friend. Well, at least it was only on Sundays. Tomorrow, he and Mai would have the same shift again, and he'd be able to talk to her and Yami. He had missed them both more than anything._

_He punched in the numbers, watching as his pack of Cheetos fell from the shelf. He reached down and grabbed them eagerly, his stomach rumbling in complaint. That was the bad thing about being a nurse; the snack breaks were limited._

_He stood back up and turned around, intending to leave the building and get some real food as soon as possible. What he was not expecting, though, was when he came face to face with none other than Mai Valentine._

_She looked even more stunning than usual, he thought. Her hair was meticulously curled and her boots hugged her calves. Not many people could make a regular nurse's uniform look good, but somehow, Mai pulled it off. She had broken dress code (not for the first time) and worn a skirt instead of the standard issue nurse's pants, and it showed off her smooth legs. Joey wanted to say something, but all of his words got caught in his throat._

_So, instead, he proceeded to lean back, casually putting an arm up. However, in his transfixed state, he had forgotten that where he was leaning didn't have anything to lean on-- his arm caught on clean air and he flailed, falling backwards and landing hard on his butt. He felt a blush rise as Mai threw back her head and let out a long laugh, her sweet sound filling the room. He tried to be angry, but she stopped laughing before he could fight off the embarrassment and find it in him to snap at her._

_She offered him her hand, her eyes sparkling as he stared at it. Instead of taking the offer, he defiantly stood on his own, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her._

_“If you're going to ogle me enough to fall flat, you should really take me on a date, Wheeler.” She teased, giving him a soft shove with her elbow. Joey felt that anger he was looking for rise, and he huffed, his face turning red again._

_“You know what?” He said defiantly, letting out a growl, “Maybe I will!” He announced. Mai rose her eyebrows, and suddenly, the reality of what he had just said hit him smack in the face. He stopped talking, stuttering a bit and backing up._

_“You mean that, Wheeler?” Mai questioned._

_“O-Of course I do!” He announced, standing up straighter. Well, he had already said it, he was going to go through with it now. He wasn't going to go back on what he said and look like an idiot. Even worse, look like an idiot who had no guts._

_His determination not to take it back wavered a bit when Mai pursed her lips, thinking. She looked him up and down for a moment and Joey gulped, resisting the urge to bite his lip, or ask her what she was going to say. The anticipation coiled in his stomach as he waited for her reply, and it felt like a million years before she finally answered._

_“Okay then. My shift ends at seven tonight.” She announced. Joey felt his jaw go slack as she continued, “We'd better go some place decent, but not too nice. I don't want to have to change out of my uniform.”_

_Joey sat there for another moment, unsure of how to respond. He gathered his wits quickly though and laughed a little at his own lack of ease, trying to act cool about it. He had just scored a date with the hottest girl that he knew-- not only that, but the girl he had harboured a crush on for practically three years now! He had to resist the urge to do a victory dance._

_“All right, see you then.” He said, trying to act lax about it. Mai turned around, waving a hand at him as she walked to begin her shift. He waited until she was out of sigh before jumping in the air, pumping his fist up in triumph and excitement._

Yami nodded his head, taking in the story with utmost interest. He laughed when she relayed the little bit about Joey falling, shaking his head back and forth. He was happy for them-- really and truly happy. They were both polar opposites, but they would work well together. “That's great. I've been waiting on you two to get your stuff together and finally go out.” He announced, smiling a little. 

Mai seemed to visibly relax. Yami wasn't sure why she was nervous about telling him; she knew that he would approve all of her choices, or at the very least, support her in whatever she decided to do. Taking a second look to her, though, he saw that she was still a little nervous. Her hands were shaking the slightest bit and her feet wouldn't stop shuffling along the ground. Her eyes stayed glued to the floor instead of vibrantly staring into his. He leaned forward and tapped her shoulder, causing her to start. “Unless, you don't want to?” He asked. Her face fell into conflicted emotions.

“I love Joey to death, I really do. The kid's got spunk, that's for sure.” She said, her eyes drifting off a bit as she thought of him. Yami thought he'd never seen a person look more affectionate talking about someone else. “But I'm worried, yeah. He's so much younger than me, and I don't know if I'll end up unable to get past his immaturity. If that happens...” Mai bit her lip, her hands stalling as she carefully chose her words, “I'm worried I might lose him as a friend, too.” She announced. 

Yami nodded his head. He understood what she was getting at; they had a great friendship. If it got ruined by the two of them trying to push for more, she'd feel terrible. It was a lot of pressure to make things work, and... While pressure changed coal to diamonds, it also mutilated things beyond recognition if they weren't prepared to handle it. He knew that they were, though. He had faith in his two friends.

“Mai, that won't happen.” He said confidently, puffing out his chest. “You guys are much too good of friends to let something like a break up shatter that. Friendship is a force beyond compare, and you both have ample to make it through anything this could throw at you. If you end up not liking him as much as you thought you did, Joey would never take it as an attack. You'll make it through.” Yami said. Mai gave a small smile, standing up a little straighter as she nodded her head in agreement.

“Thank you, Yami. I don't know what I would do without you.” She told him. Yami chuckled deeply and nodded his head, remaining silent. There wasn't much left to say on the topic. “You want to go and see Mokuba?” Mai questioned. Yami nodded his head, a smile stretching across his face. For some reason, things felt like they were falling into place in their little trio. Maybe Mokuba would even get better? Hey, he could dream.

Mai held the door open for him, and he walked out quickly, looking both ways to make sure nobody was running to get an errand done, (if he got run over by a nurse running late to check a patient, it wouldn't be the first time) and stepped into the hallway, holding the door open for Mai to come through after him.

They walked side by side down the hallway, intending to go to Mokuba's room. However, sometimes in life, our intentions are replaced by opportunity.

Yuugi came stumbling around the corner, his hair in a mess and struggling to balance himself. In his right hand was a perfect imitation of the Dark Magician's staff, but smaller, and the point around the gem rounded off. He hit the floor with it haphazardly, his nurse stumbling behind after him, a panicked look on her face.

Yuugi took a couple of steps towards them, both of them frozen in shock. His cane hit an IV pole as he was stepping forward, causing his centre of balance to shift just a little too quickly. Acting entirely on impulse, Yami stepped forward and put his hands firmly on Yuugi's shoulders, stopping his friend from falling face-first to the floor. Yuugi looked confused for a moment, his fall having abruptly stopped, and his face tilted upwards, as it would if he were looking at whoever saved him. His nose crinkled in concentration as he lifted one of his hands and laid it gently on the one currently covering his chest. Yami felt the brush of his fingers like a brand across his skin.

“Yami?” Yuugi questioned. Yami could read that much from his lips. He felt his mouth go dry and all he could do was nod his head, despite knowing that Yuugi couldn't see it. He figured somebody must have told Yuugi that he was right, because right then the boy broke out in the biggest smile-- beaming right up at Yami like he was made for it. Yami couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

A hand on his own shoulder finally broke him out of it-- He became conscious of what he was doing and his hands dropped to his sides as if touching Yuugi would burn them. He blushed dark crimson and took a step back, giving Yuugi his personal space again. Well, now he was embarrassed. Of course, he wouldn't have been if there hadn't been anybody else there. He was just afraid of what they would say to Yuugi, especially since he had no way of knowing.

“You know, I could tell Mokuba you took a rain check.” Mai offered. Yami thought she was teasing him and almost put his face in his hands, but he realized that her expression was far too serious. He tilted his head to the side a bit. “Yuugi's nurse is always busy, and you clearly did a good job of not letting him fall this time. She could really use your help.” Mai said innocently, batting her eyelashes up at Yami. He gave a gulp before shaking his head left and right, to clear his thoughts.

He looked at Yuugi; face scrunched up in concentration as he lightly hit the floor with his cane, pouting as he got just the teeniest bit frustrated with not being able to feel things. He backed up a little and bumped into the wall, his mouth opening the tiniest bit in surprise. He blushed a bit as he stepped forward a little and straightened himself out. The action was just so _Yuugi_ that Yami wanted to laugh.

“Actually, I do think I'll stay.” Yami admitted sheepishly, blushing the slightest bit. Mai laughed and shook her head in understanding, telling Yuugi's nurse that she was relieved of duty for the moment. The woman slumped in relief before immediately high tailing it out of there, not willing to push her luck any further.

“Good luck.” Mai teased, giving Yami a little wink. He rolled his eyes at her, hands awkwardly hanging at his side as they itched to grab Yuugi's. He smiled at her just a little too largely, teeth gleaming white as he silently asked her to leave. She narrowed her eyes before giving a huffy sigh and walked around Yami, towards the other end of the hallway before finally disappearing around the corner. Yami checked to make sure that nobody was looking before he reached out and gently took Yuugi's hand in his own, rubbing along Yuugi's knuckles softly.

His companion hummed in content and leaned into the touch, his arm brushing up against Yami's. Yami felt Yuugi's head rest on his shoulder for just a few seconds, affection leaking from his very pores as he looked at the younger one, and he leaned his head on top of Yuugi's. They stood there for only a few seconds before Yuugi sighed and pulled away, gently letting Yami's hand go. Yami felt disappointment and confusion go through him for a moment, before he realized that he wasn't actually _supposed_ to be holding Yuugi's hand in the first place; Yuugi was supposed to be using the _cane._

Yami broke away and awkwardly scratched his head for a moment. All the other times he'd held Yuugi's hand, it had been for walking purposes, or he'd just held on afterwards because he didn't feel like letting go. He had always assumed that that's why Yuugi allowed it; simply because he had to if he didn't want to fall and break something. However, it would have been easy for him earlier to immediately jerk away, or simply let Yami's hand fall out of his, gesturing towards the cane as his excuse. It would have been perfectly acceptable. Only, he hadn't.

Yami snapped out of the thought, jogging forward a couple of steps to catch back up with Yuugi. He stopped a couple of paces away from his friend and watched as he edged his cane along the wall, confused by the solid structure. Yuugi stood up straighter in triumph as he edged along and finally came to the opening, his goal being achieved. He started down that hallway.

He was probably over thinking the whole thing, to be honest. Hand holding didn't mean much to most people. Yami just hadn't been exposed to affection as much as other people had, so little things seemed like a bigger deal to him. He had been raised in the hospital, whereas Yuugi had been cultured in a private school. Now that he thought about it, that could have some influence on how Yuugi felt about affection, too. If he wasn't out and about to have society _tell_ him that holding hands with someone else was romantic, maybe he didn't even know. Perhaps all the boys at the private school held hands, and it just meant you were really good friends?

No, Joey wasn't like that at all, and he'd been in the school almost as long as Yuugi. Yami shook his head again, giving an exasperated sigh as he did. He needed to stop thinking about this, or it was going to kill him. He just needed to concentrate on keeping Yuugi safe and secure in the hospital. He didn't need to be letting his thoughts run away with him right now.

He stepped forward again, finding Yuugi around the corner. He took a couple of large steps to catch up and then subtly brushed up against Yuugi to let him know that he was there. Yuugi smiled a bit and moved his cane to the left, intentionally poking Yami's shoe before. Yami's head whipped down, but by the time he looked, Yuugi's cane had already returned to the designated path. The grin stretched across his face gave away that he had been the one to do it, though.

Yami knew that his eyes were swimming with affection. It seemed overwhelming, this feeling of friendship. He never wanted Yuugi to go. It wasn't that he was a good conversationalist, it was that he didn't _have_ to be. He made Yami laugh all the time. Yami could tell how he thought or felt by the little twitches of his body, nudges at times of peace, the small adjustments he made to his posture. Yami saw all of this, and he loved all of it. There was nothing more overwhelming than the feeling of knowing that you'd never get sick of a person.

He watched as Yuugi's cane continued to tap the floor, Yuugi looking frustrated as he stumbled along. Yami kept close, trying to make sure that he didn't let Yuugi fall. It was hard to get more than a couple feet away, though, because any time Yami would come too close, he would wind up bumping into Yuugi, or Yuugi would end up bumping into him. So, he tried to stay at the right distance.

Of course, he couldn't _always_ stay a foot away. The hallways were small, and nurses strolled through them with large equipment, sometimes even hospital beds. There were times when Yami would have to pull Yuugi abruptly to the side to keep him from getting run over. On one such occasion, a nurse came walking through in no hurry, pushing some heavy-looking machine on wheels through the hallway. They were towards the end and had nowhere to go, so Yami reached out and wrapped his hand around Yuugi's arm, pulling him aside. There was no time to judge how hard or fast to pull, so Yami just yanked Yuugi against himself, not wanting to let him hit the wall.

He continued to stay in the awkward embrace, Yuugi's hands now pushing up against the wall on either side of him, for a good twenty seconds. Once the machine was finally past, Yami awkwardly put a hand on Yuugi's shoulder and pushed him away, giving it a pat. Yuugi smiled a bit and nudged Yami affectionately before he went back to walking.

The problem was, now that he wasn't paying as much attention to where he was going. An IV pole had been carelessly left in the hallway, and Yuugi's cane went right over it. He took another step and his foot caught on the metal bar, sending his body sprawling forward towards the cold floor.

Yami knew he had to do something, and fast. So, he stepped forward and grabbed Yuugi's arm, his own feet snagging on the metal and making him unable to regain his own balance. In a last ditch effort he reached around and put his hands behind Yuugi's head so it wouldn't hit the floor, and he tightened his arms so he wouldn't fall on top of Yuugi. He took the blow and his knuckles cracked against the floor, his knees landing to either side and keeping his body from hitting Yuugi's. He could feel Yuugi's breath coming in short pants across his face, and he looked in wonder at the small boy beneath him.

Yuugi was slightly out of breath as he propped himself up on his elbows, and Yami moved his hands and sat back some to give him some space. He could read Yuugi's lips as he thanked him, his mouth stretched upwards in a toothy grin.

The mood changed abruptly. Suddenly, Yami got the urge to kiss that grin away. Yuugi's body was warm and soft, his grin fading as his tongue darted out to lick his lips. Yami moved one of his hands forward to rest gently on Yuugi's and leaned forward just the smallest bit, his own lips parted in anticipation. His head tilted, and Yuugi's seemed to tilt the opposite way. It would be so easy to just lean in and kiss him right then, so natural...

A nurse walked around the corner, and Yami suddenly sat up straight, having seen her out of the corner of his eyes. He looked back to Yuugi and cleared his throat awkwardly, smiling a little as he got up and stepped back, waiting until Yuugi put out his own hand to pull his friend up. He saw that Yuugi was giving a small frown, and Yami wondered if it was because he didn't do what Yuugi expected, or if it was because he knew what Yami was going to do and didn't want to. Anxiety twisted in his stomach. They had been close enough... If Yuugi really wanted to kiss him, wouldn't he have just done it?

Yami shook his head, catching up with Yuugi again. He didn't want him to trip again, so he'd have to be more careful. After all, he didn't know whether or not Yuugi would be a fan of a recurrence.

Later on in the day, Mai was preparing for her date with Joey.

She had reapplied lip stick at least five times in the last ten minutes, her hands shaking the slightest bit. She didn't know what was wrong with her; she had been on plenty of dates before, and she'd never behaved this way. She shook her head at her own behaviour, giving a huffy sigh and forcing herself to sit down. She couldn't do this to herself; she was going to go and have a good time, and that was that. She wouldn't let herself be tormented by the possibility of failure.

She stood up, forcing herself to put on a fake smile as she adjusted her top. She had changed out of her nurse's uniform, (she had said she didn't feel like it, but ended up needing something to do while she waited) and into the spare tank top and mini-jacket she kept in her locker. She checked the clock, satisfied as '7:54' beamed up at her from the electric screen. She walked over to the machine they used to keep track of how long they had worked and checked out, figuring that leaving five or six minutes early couldn't hurt anyone.

She walked out in the New York air, clutching her top closer as she shivered. Her eyes scanned the line of cars momentarily before they rested on one in particular; the beat up Chevy that Joey called a vehicle. She walked a couple of steps towards it, reminding herself that this was _Joey_ , and that she had wanted this for a long time. She eventually reached the curb and knocked just the slightest bit on the glass of the car, her eyes peering into the vehicle as she tried to make out Joey.

Joey jumped, his eyes turning eagerly towards the sound that had come from the window. He smiled and sheepishly unlocked the door, his hands returning to the steering wheel as he nervously twidled his thumbs. Mai stepped off of the curb and got in the car, her skirt coming up a couple of inches as she swooped down into the seat. Joey felt tension coil in his stomach as he looked over towards her, laughing nervously a little.

“I thought you weren't going to change?” He asked, eyeing the shirt. Mai shrugged, smiling a bit as she peered out the windshield. Joey reached forward and grabbed hold of the gear shift, shifting out of park and gently nudging the gas to let the car begin to move forward.

“I felt like changing after you left. I have to maintain my pride, you know.” Mai said, leaning back. Now that she was in the car, she was starting to get comfortable. Talking to Joey was easy and natural, no longer did she feel awkward and nervous. Joey was starting to visibly relax, too, Mai's easygoing nature becoming his own. They both knew each other; they hung out, they talked, they were easy to be around. Sure they picked on each other and tended to have a competitive streak, but that's part of what made them like each other so much. This date was just going to be fun, just the two of them, without the pressures that something like that normally would imply. Because just because they knew that they liked each other now, didn't have to mean that things changed.

“I think you have _plenty_ of that already.” Joey retaliated, smiling. Mai closed her eyes for a second, breathing out a bit in relief as the lights above them reflected on the dashboard. “So, where do you want to go? I'll let you decide.” Joey offered.

“How about we just go and get pizza?” Mai offered. Joey smiled and flashed her a thumbs up, already turning down the road to get to their usual hangout. Joey didn't even have to ask to make sure; he knew that this was where Mai would want to go. They had a routine, and he remembered it. Mai liked that about him.

So, they ate, and talked, and laughed, and had fun. Mai was herself and Joey was himself, constantly flirting and competing over stupid little things. Once they were done, they split the tab and got back in Joey's car, him making the short drive back to the parking lot so Mai could get her car. He pulled up to the curb and unlocked the door, awkwardly waiting for her to get out. She stayed, her arms coming to cross over her chest.

“Joey Wheeler,” She said, batting her eyelashes, “You're not trying to push me out into the cold without my kiss, are you?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Joey's eyes widened as he remembered that this, _was,_ in fact, a date, and he blushed, stuttering.

“I-uh, I,” He said, his hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter than probably necessary. He cleared his throat before finally continuing, “Of course I wasn't.”

Mai scooted over towards him, her breath ghosting over his face. “I'm waiting.” She purred seductively. She was more than capable of initiating it herself, but she liked watching Joey squirm.

His hands left the steering wheel, one of them coming to rest awkwardly against the console while the other went up to lay gently on Mai's shoulder. He paused for a moment, looking into her eyes and feeling his mind go blank, before he leaned forward slowly and pressed his lips to hers.

She parted her lips a little, feeling his do the same, and she leaned into the kiss. Joey started to pull away but she followed him, making the kiss deeper and longer. She leaned over the console, the plastic digging into her side as she leaned into it, pulling apart momentarily only to press forward again. Joey leaned into it eagerly, his hand moving around to lightly tug her hair as they stayed in a lip-lock. Finally, she pulled away, panting slightly as she sat herself back down in the seat. Her eyes flickered back over to his and she gave a small, almost secretive smile as she opened the door and rose from the car, walking along the pavement towards her own vehicle.

She didn't have to look back to know that his eyes were trained on her the whole way.

 


	8. The Learning Experience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have your fluffy date you fucking losers  
> AKA: *sheepishly puts on the crown and accepts title of "Queen of Forgetting to Update"*.

Chapter 7:

The Learning Experience

A month had passed since all of this occurred.

Yami had been practising his lip reading every day, and could now understand almost anything that anyone said to him. He could read Yuugi's lips and tell the exact words he used; an especially good exercise, since Yuugi's vocabulary was quite expansive.

All the hard work had its downfalls, though. Since he was constantly improving his talents, watching internet videos to help, watching Mai's lips as she spoke, and generally spending time bettering himself, Yuugi was pushed off to the side. Despite how much he wanted to spend every moment he could with him, (they had grown even closer in the second month Yuugi had spent at the hospital) Yami _had_ to learn to speak, _for_ him. Once he finally did, he could surprise Yuugi with it, and then, they could start spending more time together. He could observe and practice with Yuugi. All the missing him was practically driving Yami insane, though.

At least they still had nights. Yami would get up sometimes, (he just had a feeling of when he should, he couldn't explain it, but it was always right) and walk through the hospital, faking drowsiness, to Yuugi's room. He'd lightly tap on the door if it was closed and Yuugi would stumble around with his cane for a little while until he found it, hands fumbling for the handle as he tried to open the door. Once he finally succeeded in his task, Yami would step through and immediately hug him. Sometimes, he was happy. Other times, he looked sad, as if he'd been crying again.

That was another reason Yami couldn't wait to talk to Yuugi. He knew that Yuugi was sad; he just didn't know _why._ He wanted to learn everything about him, including his troubles, and try to make them better. Yuugi clearly needed comforting, and Yami knew that he wouldn't talk to a stranger about it. He only hoped that Yuugi would find them close enough to talk to him about it.

As for right then, Yami was laying in Yuugi's bed next to him, the television turned onto Supernatural. Yami was focusing on reading their lips for the most part, but relying on the subtitles for phrases or words he didn't yet know. He'd been instructed to carefully look in the mirror each day and try to mouth words to himself, even trying to actually say them at times. He had to copy everything just right; the way the lips moved, where the tongue went, the actual _talking_ part. It was difficult, and he'd just started the stage a week ago, but he thought he was getting along good so far. He had decided, though, not to ask Mai to help him with that part. He knew it was cheesy and cliché, but he wanted Yuugi to be the first one to hear his voice.

He reached over, no longer paying attention to the TV, (well, technically it was netflix. They had to start over so Yuugi could see (well, hear) the whole thing) and ran his fingers gently through Yuugi's hair, snuggling closer. Yuugi nuzzled in to his hand, giving a small smile. He reached up and grabbed Yami's hand from his hair, intertwining their fingers together. Yami felt his breath catch in his throat as Yuugi's smile lit up his face.

This was another new development. Yuugi no longer had any reservations concerning physical contact; he would reach out and grab Yami's hand all the time now, whenever he felt the urge. It had started about a week ago, and despite the countless times it had happened, it never failed to take Yami's breath away. He felt so _happy_ and light, in a way he'd never felt before. He couldn't even begin to comprehend how someone he'd known for only two months had managed to become such a prominent part of his life. It was a little disorienting, honestly.

There was a sharp tap on the door and Yuugi's head snapped in the direction of the sound, fully intent on finding out who it was. Yami sighed and let go of Yuugi's hand, (Yuugi gave a small frown) and got up, figuring that there was no use in making Yuugi use his cane. He was getting better at it, and now had very few accidents, but Yami still didn't like to put him in the position where he had to. Yuugi seemed annoyed with the thing most of the time.

He peered out the window for a second before opening it, revealing Mai behind the door. Her hair was slightly messy and her shirt was a little rumpled up. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Were you and Joey making out in the closet again?” He asked. Mai's face turned a light shade of pink, but she kept her head held high pridefully as she bounced into the room, ignoring the question. Yami rolled his eyes as he shut the door again, shaking his head back and forth.

Mai and Joey had gone out on three more dates since the first. Yami was happy to see that they acted the same, though; they hadn't changed the way that they treated each other, (well, if you don't count the whole “sneaking off every few days to make out”) and they seemed to be working out just fine. Joey had proven to have a romantic side when he brought a flower in for Mai, (or, more accurately, dragged his muddy feet into the door and thrust the thing into her hands because he had gone on a nature hike to actually find something he thought she would like) which helped him seem more mature to her. Of course, they were still taking things slowly. Going too fast in any relationship where such heavy emotions were involved could potentially be disastrous.

“Hey, how are you two doing?” Mai asked, not bothering to sign it out. Yami smiled, feeling a small bubble of pride at being able to understand He shrugged, gesturing towards Yuugi as if to say, “Ask him, not me!”. Yami was fine as long as Yuugi was happy; that's what he really wanted.

“I'm doing fine, Mai.” Yami read from Yuugi. Yuugi had waited until Mai had told him what Yami had insisted to speak, not wanting to accidentally trample on the words of his friend. He wouldn't want to interrupt; that was something Yuugi had been disciplined for at the boarding school.

Mai's eyes flickered briefly to Yami for a moment, to make sure that he understood what Yuugi had said. When she had confirmed this, she looked back at Yuugi, smiling and saying that that was good. She soon turned slightly concerned and she turned to Yami, giving a small frown as she did so. She looked like she was thinking things over, contemplating her next move. Yami had a feeling he wouldn't like what happened next.

“Yami, how about you go and see Mokuba?” She suggested. Yami perked up at the idea. He thought that Mai was going to scold him or had bad news, but he was more than happy with that turnout. He nodded his head eagerly and waved at her in consent, feeling the dull ache in his chest he got when he missed someone. He hadn't realized it had been that long since he'd seen his friend, but now, he wanted nothing more than to see him.

Since they started him on the miracle medicine, Mokuba had been improving rapidly. He was no longer the small and frail child that he had been before; he was fierce, his comebacks quick and his mischief peaked. He was alive and young and innocent and was healthy enough to blush when someone talked about Rebecca, (despite his denial, everyone knew he had a small crush on Yami's old translator) and he was bouncing with energy and youth. Places where bones had previously jutted out were now round with a soft layer of healthy fat, and he could keep down almost all of his food now. He had gotten out of the bed to walk around the hall twice that week, much to the alarm of the nurse, whom had told him explicitly that no matter how well he felt he couldn't do that.

Yami quickened his pace, eager to see how his friend had improved. He wondered why Mai had sent him to see the little brat, and wanted to know if Mokuba had said anything about his absence. His practice time had taken time from all of his friends, not just Yuugi. He was wary, but knew that the hard work would more than pay off in the end. As long as he slowed down once he was good enough, to avoid the possibility of foster care.

He looked up to find that he had arrived at Mokuba's door, and smiled. His hand hesitated over the cool metal, flashing back to so many other times he had opened this door to find Mokuba weak and sickly, bones jutting out awkwardly as he bent over the bed and heaved. He flinched at the memories and reminded himself firmly that this was different, that Mokuba was getting better now. He took a steady breath before he pushed the door open, unconsciously clutching the handle just a little tighter than necessary.

Yami opened the door to find Mokuba cheerily sitting up in his bed, complexion pink and eyes sparkling with happiness as he looked down at the table. Joey sat beside him, staring down in shock at the cards that were sprawled out in front of the pair. He shook his head in disbelief, throwing up his hands in defeat as Mokuba laughed. Yami could read his lips as he said, “That's the fifth game of poker I've won in a row. I'm sure it's still just beginner's luck though, right?”

Joey half-glared at Mokuba as he pouted, placing his arms firmly across his chest as Mokuba collected the poker chips laying in the centre of the table. His eyes flickered up and around the room absently as he preformed the task, his hands halting their progress as he spotted Yami.

“Yami! How have you been?” He asked cheerily, dropping the poker chips and using his hands to talk. Joey, noticing Mokuba's movement out of the corner of his eye, glanced back over to look at Yami and smiled broadly, the woes of losing all but forgotten. Mokuba soon began to determinedly move his legs, (he had barely been able to have enough physical therapy before the last few months to keep him mobile, but now, he was using them like a pro) his hand reaching out to grab the bed sheet and throw it aside. His brow furrowed in concentration as he stood up.

He stumbled a couple of steps towards Yami before throwing his arms around his friend's waist, his head nuzzling into Yami's chest. Yami was frozen for a moment before he slowly reached down and patted Mokuba's head, returning the hug with his other hand. He glanced up to see Joey sighing deeply and putting his head in his hands; as good as it was that Mokuba was standing right now, he wasn't supposed to be, and Joey didn't know how he would keep him from it.

Of course, Mokuba didn't _like_ the physical therapy. It was painful and more times then not uncomfortable bending his motionless legs to awkward angles and enduring the burn of his muscle naturally stretching. He had stuck with it, though, and he was determined to get some use out of the countless hours his muscles were quaking and burning while he practised his exercises. He was therefore almost impossible to keep in the bed, no matter how hard Joey tried to coax him to stay still with games of Poker or long stories about when Yami and him were a couple of years younger.

“Mokuba, you should be resting.” Joey tried feebly. Mokuba pulled away from Yami and slowly unwrapped his arms from the other's waist, sticking out his tongue at Joey as he did. He glanced back up at Yami again momentarily before he stepped back and stumbled a couple of steps to the bed, climbing in slowly, pain briefly etching across his features as he lifted up his leg. He eventually ended up underneath the covers again, back by the poker table, and Yami realized then that he had been holding his breath. He let it out with a sigh of relief for Mokuba's good health and ability to balance himself, and stepped forward to observe their game of poker.

“Did Mai send you?” Joey asked. Yami almost responded, before he realized that Joey didn't yet know he could understand, and turned to Mokuba to watch him translate. His mind wandered a little as Mokuba worked, before being jerked back to reality as Joey nudged his arm. He shook his head a bit before remembering that he was supposed to be responding, and sheepishly raised his hands.

“Yes, Mai sent me. She stayed behind with Yuugi, though.” Yami informed Mokuba, whom in turn relayed the information to Joey. Joey nodded his head slowly and picked up his cards again, looking thoughtful on his decision.

“Yeah, she said she wanted to talk to him.” Joey mumbled. Mokuba relayed the information, and Yami's eyes widened in slight confusion. Mai wanted to talk to Yuugi? Was it about something personal? Is that why she'd told Yami to leave?

“Really? What about?” Yami asked curiously. His interest rose to a peak as Joey played his cards slowly, pondering his answer. Mokuba flipped over the other two cards, revealing that he'd won the round again, and Joey's face became one of an obviously faked blank indifference. He spoke as he dealt the next hand.

“I'm not actually sure. She didn't talk about it. Didn't she tell you?” Joey questioned. This time, he looked up as he spoke, question flickering in his eyes as he regarded Yami with curiosity. “She said something about talking to you, too, but I figured she'd talk to both of you at the same time. I guess she just had to say something for Yuugi's ears only, and you being there would make her too nervous?” Joey questioned. His head was tilted to the side and his body language gave away that he knew this assumption was wrong; Mai was never nervous, and she told Yami absolutely everything, so she almost had to have been questioning Yuugi. Now, the only question was, on what topic?

Yami tried to scan his mind for what the two could be talking about, but he came up blank. He couldn't see any reason Mai would need to talk to Yuugi alone, or any reason why she would kick him out in the first place. Suddenly, he was worried. What if something was wrong with Yuugi and he didn't know it? What if he had done something wrong, or Yuugi had been upset by somebody, and Yami couldn't be there to help him? Why wouldn't he tell Yami if something had happened?

Anxiety churned in his stomach, growling as if it were an angry mother bear. He shook his head to make himself snap out of it, his own half-hearted reassurances that nothing was wrong doing almost nothing to make him feel any better. He shook his head back and forth half heartedly, trying to tell himself that he was being ridiculous. He smiled at Joey, and it came out as a little more of a grimace.

“Maybe they just needed some time alone. After all, Mai _does_ have a pain in the butt boyfriend, she has to have _someone_ to complain to.” Yami teased him. His stomach didn't feel quite well, and he was considering just going back to his room for a little while. He needed to practice his speech for today, anyway.

Joey rolled his eyes and grumbled something about Yami, (Mokuba didn't translate it and Joey was mostly facing away, so it was hard to make out he shape of his lips) turning back towards the card game he was so painfully losing. He lay down an ace from his own hand, beaming in pride as he did so. He actually managed to win the round, looking overjoyed as he smiled and declared his gaming prowess, pumping a fist into the air in victory.

“Yeah, now it's only seven to one! You're catching up!” Mokuba exclaimed, and Joey deflated. Yami resisted the urge to chuckle at the affair, finding any kind of distraction amusing at this point.

“Guys, I'm going to go and spend some time alone now, okay?” He informed them, frowning a bit. He resisted the urge to put his head in his hands and sigh, turning and walking out the door with a wave over his shoulder. He turned around in the doorway just long enough to see Mokuba sign goodbye and Joey say it, turning to Mokuba and asking him to sign it for him. Mokuba rolled his eyes and said something along the lines of, “He knows how to read lips for that much.”

Yami shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as if they were an etch-a-sketch board that could be shaken blank. He went through the bits of information that he had one piece at a time, his mind working through everything slowly in attempt to snap the puzzle together. He didn't even really realize when he stepped through the door and into his own room, and was almost startled when he looked up and found himself in the familiar environment.

Thinking logically, the conclusion he had come to was that Yuugi had something wrong. He couldn't talk to Yami about it yet, because Yami wasn't ready to be able to talk, but he had something he needed to get off his chest. Yami couldn't begin to express how discouraging it was that he wasn't able to listen to what Yuugi said, that it had to be done by Mai. He felt almost as if all of his hard work so far was going to waste, but he knew that telling Yuugi before he was able to actually respond would only end up frustrating for them both.

So, the logical thing to do would be to practice. Even if he was discouraged and didn't feel much like it today, he was rapidly improving and would be able to talk soon if he just kept working at it. He picked up his hand mirror and stared himself down in the glass, blinking as his eyes drifted down to his mouth, which was puckered distastefully. He smoothed the grimace into a smile, starting with a couple of simple phrases.

His eyes stayed trained on his lips as he slowly formed them into different shapes, slowly articulating his words. He opened it wide and tried to look at what his tongue was doing, before shutting it again and pressing it against his front teeth, as he'd been instructed to do to make the 'T' sound. He watched the shape of his mouth, concentrated on where to put his tongue, and even actually made his voice box hum a couple of times, saying simple words out loud. He said things like, “Hello” or “How are you”, before finally moving on to some more complicated things, like Yuugi's name. His eyes never left his lips in the mirror, and he found that even the way his mouth formed the word seemed sweet. He couldn't help but to close his eyes for a moment, putting the mirror against his chest fondly as he paused.

When he opened his eyes again, the door was shaking just a little bit on it's hinges. He tilted his head to the side briefly as he wondered who could be knocking, (most of the nurses just barged right in) before he realized that he'd regretted to leave the door unlocked. He set down the mirror he'd been using and walked forward, fumbling with the lock for a moment before he let the door swing open, revealing none other than Mai Valentine.

“Mai!” He exclaimed, his previous ponderings coming back to him all at once. He stood up just a little straighter and stood aside so that she could come into his room.

She barged into the small area, her eyes assessing as they scanned the things he had. He cleared his throat subconsciously as she did, shifting just a little. Finally, her eyes settled on his bed (luckily, he'd actually felt like making it that morning) and she walked over to the small cot, turning around and situating herself on the thing. Her eyes flickered up and she smiled dangerously, leaning back as she did so. Yami found himself resisting the temptation to ask her immediately what she and Yuugi talked about, figuring that if he needed to know, she'd tell him soon. Mai was a reliable friend.

He licked his lips, smiling nervously as he waited for her to start talking. She stayed silent, and the tension in the room slowly grew as Yami's anticipation reached a peak. He felt like he was going to explode at any moment if she didn't start talking. Finally, the silence so thick you could cut it with a butter knife, Yami relented. He needed to know what was said, and if any of it was his own fault.

“So, what did you and Yuugi talk about?” He asked. Mai looked down a bit, as if she was slightly reluctant to tell him, but when she looked back up, her face was in a neutral mask.

“Honey, I know I shouldn't have meddled, but the boy has been waiting for at least a month out of the two for you to ask him out. All I did was ask him how he felt about you. How did you know I was talking to him, anyway?” Mai questioned, raising her eyebrows. Yami hardly heard the last part.

He could have sworn that Mai wasn't going to meddle. He should have known her better than to assume that, though. Now, he had a million questions swirling around in his head and almost no answers, and the effect was almost dizzying. What had happened to make her decide to broach the topic? How did she ask him? Most importantly, how did he respond to her question? Did he think now that Yami had put her up to talking to him, as if they were in middle school. He let his legs take over and he began to nervously pace, biting his lip before turning to Mai expectantly. “Well, how did it go?” He questioned. Mai didn't need any more prompting.

“Well, at first it was a little awkward. I just asked him how he felt about you. He started out by just saying that you two were really good friends. I asked him if he thought of you as anything more than that, and he looked a little uncomfortable. He made me promise that I wouldn't breathe a word of this to anyone, of course, he went back on that later, and he said that he has had a crush on you for awhile now. Did you know he still has that blue flower you gave him sitting in his window sill? It's dead as a doornail by now, but anyway... I told him that you felt the same about him, and that you were just too shy to admit it. He was overjoyed, Yami, you should have seen him,” She gushed, doing a small dance in celebration. “He said he'd be open to going on a date with you. Tonight.” Mai said. Yami had to sit down.

He walked over to the bed beside her, thoughts swirling in his head as he rested his weight against the fabric. He felt almost like this was a dream; he couldn't believe what was happening right now, despite the fact that it was right in front of him. He shook his head to clear it. Yuugi, the boy whom he had harboured feelings for ever since the first day that they met, had a crush on _him._ He almost couldn't believe the luck that he must have; he felt joy threaten to overtake him, but his face remained blank. He wasn't sure what to do right now; a date? With Yuugi? Was this even possible?

“He really likes me?” Yami asked, turning to Mai with hopeful eyes. She rolled her own.

“Of course he likes you. It doesn't take a genius to see, Yami. You need to go and ask him to dinner tonight in your own words. He's missed spending time with you; you've spent almost every free minute for the past month on learning to speak. None of that matters if you push away the one you're learning for.” Mai said gently. Yami nodded his head, pushing down a small wave of guilt. It was in the past now, and he had to keep moving forward.

So, he nodded his head, ignoring the knot of anxiety in his stomach. Yuugi had already said yes; now all he had to do was grab Mai and get her to translate. She'd mentioned that Yuugi would want to go on a date and implied that he'd all but said yes, (on top of being free tonight) but Yami wanted to do this the right way. If he was going on a date with Yuugi, he was going to ask him out himself.

It was time to stop pushing this off; sometimes, he thought that all he ever did was delay. This wasn't something he would delay again. He fully intended to ask Yuugi eventually, and now as the time. If he kept telling himself that he had to be perfect at speaking before he started to get serious, it was never going to happen. Yuugi was most likely tired of waiting by now, and honestly, he was too. He didn't have to talk to go on a date and have a good time.

So, he gestured for Mai to follow him as he confidently walked back to Yuugi's room, standing up straight and going through the exact words he would have Mai say once he got there. They finally arrived and the door loomed over him; he refused to let himself be intimidated. He marched through them and came to stop in front of Yuugi's bed. Yuugi was smiling a huge, beaming ray of happiness towards him, and he couldn't help but be warmed by it.

“Mai,” He signed. He paused briefly, trying to keep his thoughts together. He just wanted to be simple-- Yuugi knew that he felt the same way about him by now, and that's all tat really needed to be exchanged for that part, but Yami _did_ want to go on a date. Yuugi would have to say yes for that to be a reality, so he would just ask. “Ask him how...” He hesitated again. Mai put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow in question.

How was Yami losing his nerve now? Of all times? He should be jumping for joy and excitingly spitting out the question as fast as his hands would allow him to. Only, that wasn't what he was feeling-- he felt like things had to be perfect. More importantly, he _wanted_ them to be perfect—for Yuugi. All he could do was take a deep breath, his eyes closed tight, and soothe his nerves. “Ask him how he'd like to join me for dinner tonight?” He finally signed. Mai smiled and turned to Yuugi, relaying Yami's question word for word.

Yami thought that Yuugi's smile couldn't get any bigger than what it had been before, but he was wrong. Yuugi absolutely radiated warmth and light and happiness, and Yami thought he could detect a small trace of a blush making his cheeks rosy. He nodded his head enthusiastically, saying yes in Mai's direction. She knew that she didn't have to translate, though; Yami's smile and chuckle as the tension faded from him were sign enough that he'd gotten the message.

“Good.” Yami signed awkwardly, smiling just a bit. He tried to keep his face neutral and recompose himself, but found it difficult to stop the smile that seemed to want to permanently plaster itself on his face. “I guess I'll come and get you at seven, then?” Yami questioned. Mai quickly translated and Yuugi nodded his head again, looking down at the ground.

“I'd like that.” Yuugi mumbled. Yami was able to read his lips, and he felt another small burst of pride at the achievement. He nodded his head again and stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Mai's hand wrapped around his wrist and she attempted to usher him away. He slowly relaxed his body and allowed himself to be pulled out of the room in a flurry of motion and force, giving a small wave towards Yuugi despite the fact that he couldn't see it. It still made Yami feel better, the small and nervous gesture that he'd grown so acclimated to. Every time one of the patients would leave or he'd be saying goodbye to a friend, he'd give the little wave. It was almost like saying, “Goodbye, see you again.” He felt like it finalized the end of the conversation; made it just that much more real.

Mai tugged him away excitedly, talking to herself the entire way. Yami could read her lips from where he stood, but didn't bother to make out the actual words. He was too light and airy and felt like he was dreaming, and focusing on the small things could make him wake up. He wanted to savour this moment as long as he lived; a date with someone cute, sweet, funny, and all together perfect for him.

Finally, she paraded him into his room, grabing some nice clothes and thrusting them into his arms. He held onto them and slowly looked up at her blankly, the unasked question of what they were for flickering in his eyes.

“Weren't you paying attention?” She asked after a moment of silence, raising her eyebrow in question. “It's a _date,_ you have to look good for it!” She gushed, smiling broadly as she shoved him towards the bathroom to get changed. He turned and dumped the clothes back into her arms, and she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to say what he wanted.

“He's _blind,_ Mai. I don't _have_ to get dressed up.” Yami argued. “It's not like we're going anywhere particularly fancy, anyway.” Yami said. Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn't know where they were going at all. Before he could panic, Mai spoke, shoving the clothes back into his arms as she did.

“I asked him his preference, and he says he likes Italian food. You've not done anything but work and practice for the last month, so I assume Olive Garden will be in your budget?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Yami shook his head yes; he'd been there a couple of times, and the food was excellent, and it wasn't all that pricey for good Italian food. As soon as she had confirmation, she turned him around and shoved him into the bathroom, making small noises of dissatisfaction as she went through his hair care products.

It sounded like the rest of the night was going to be long for him.

She couldn't keep him trying on different outfits and parading around for her amusement forever, though. He had an appointment to keep, so at six forty-five sharp, he grabbed his wallet and ducked around her outstretched arms, marching out the door and starting on his way to Yuugi's room. She professed her belief that his hair wasn't quite ready yet and they still had time, but it fell on deaf ears. Literally.

Yami was soon standing in front of Yuugi's room again, Mai soon materializing seemingly out of nowhere beside him. She stepped forward and knocked on the door, standing beside him and standing up as straight as she could manage in attempt to look formal. She had messaged Joey and told him to get Yuugi ready while Yami was changing the first time, so she knew that he would be ready and looking sharp at around this time. She tapped her foot impatiently while Joey scrambled around in the room, (Yami could see him stumbling through the small glass window) before throwing open the door, nearly knocking Yami over.

“Hey, it took me an hour to find that outfit. You'd better not misplace a hair on his head.” Mai said indignantly. Joey rolled his eyes at his girlfriend, stepping aside silently and revealing Yuugi standing behind him in wait.

Yami took one look at him, and he felt like his breath had been taken away. Yuugi was in a loose white, button-up shirt that hung around his loosely, flaring out towards the end and shaking loosely around a pair of black wrist-bracelets he wore. His pants were black as midnight and hugged his figure in all the right ways, bringing out his slightly more girlish figure and making him somehow look taller than usual. As far as Yami could tell, his hair had been purposefully thrown just the slightest bit out of place, and he could just see the usual black collar through how his shirt's collar was flared up. He awkwardly sifted his position, and Yami reached out to clutch Mai's wrist urgently, turning towards her.

“Tell him he looks beautiful.” Yami begged, then rethought, “On second thought, tell him he looks _handsome._ ” Yami adjusted slightly. Mai rolled her eyes before dead panning the information to Yuugi, who's face was tinged the slightest bit pink with the information. He took a couple of steps forward, his cane clutched into his left hand, and held out his right as an invitation.

It took Yami a moment to realize that it was for him. Once he did, he quickly reached out and took the hand that was offered, clearing his throat before he took a step, leading Yuugi away from the door. He waved towards Mai and Joey, trying not to let anxiety get the best of him as he remembered the two-block walk towards olive garden.

The pair made it to the front desk and stepped outside, the cool chill of the night attempting to wrap it's cruel fingers around the duo. Yuugi let a small shiver pass through him, and Yami paused, biting his lip. After he finally decided that it would be okay with his partner, he let the other hand slip from between his fingers and put an arm over Yuugi's shoulders, pulling him close as he dared to ward off the unsavoury chill.

The walk was filled with the small brushes of legs and tentative touches of hands, and Yami couldn't believe that this was happening to him. He felt connected to Yuugi in a way he'd never achieved with anyone else, and he doubted he'd ever be _able_ to feel this way towards someone else. Yuugi's small smile and concentration and the way he seemed to radiate care and compassion while still having a little, quirky sense of humour was almost unreal. Yami could appreciate every little thing about him, from his talk to the way he walked to the sense of determination he had when starting anything new.

Finally, the lights of the restaurant were visible, fighting against the warm glow of the sun as they walked together towards the building. A surge of warm air greeted them and practically sucked them inside the building as Yami opened the door, and they were greeted with relative luck; almost nobody was there apart from them. Yami grabbed a notepad and wrote down a request for a table for two, and the waiter came back almost immediately with one available.

They were lead down a couple of rows to an available table, and the waiter bowed over before rapidly asking for their orders.

“Oh, excuse me, sir,” Yuugi said, “My friend here is deaf. Would you mind getting a notepad for him to write to you on? Oh, and do you have a Braille menu?” Yuugi asked, knowing full well that they practically _had_ to, or else it may be discrimination. He'd been taught all of the basics and could quote the laws forward to backwards if anyone were to question it.

“I think I'd be able to do that! Give me just a minute. In the mean time, how about I just go ahead and bring some bread sticks, hmmm?” The waiter propositioned, and Yuugi nodded his head. Yami felt his stomach give a small twist in complaint of having skipped lunch to spend time with the boy whom was now sitting across the table from him, but he ignored it in favour of leaning forward and looking at Yuugi.

His eyes traced the contours of his face, the set of his mouth, the shape of his eyes, before they finally came to look at one of his favourite features, Yuugi's nose. It seemed small and perfectly proportioned to his face, and the slight sharpness of it brought out his other, more cherubic features perfectly. That was one difference between their appearances; Yuugi was softer, where he was all hard lines and sharp angles. His limbs were longer and thinner, his proportions not as even.

Suddenly, he realized just how glaringly _awkward_ this would be for anybody else. He was sitting across from someone he'd liked for quite some time, and there was no conversation. They sat facing each other silently, the premise of talking not only unbreached, but seemingly unbreachable. Yami wanted the first time Yuugi heard his voice, (the first time _anyone_ would hear his voice) to be special, and sitting in a crowded restaurant surrounded by other people he barely knew knowing that he wouldn't be the only one to hear it just seemed wrong. However, he could feel the tension he had at the situation mounting, and it would only get worse as time would go on. He searched for a way to make things better, for a way to lighten up the mood, when-

He felt a soft prodding a his feet from across the table. He looked up from his thoughts, fingers crossed and raised, chin settled squarely on top. Yuugi sat on the other side of the table with an entirely blank expression, hands folded, but laying on the table, his face the very picture of innocence. Yami paused for a moment before he brushed the incident off, finding his previous ponderings much too important to worry about some phantom feeling.

However, as soon as he returned to the issue, his foot was prodded again. This time, his entire body froze as he fought the urge to look under the table, before he forced himself to calm and gave a brief sigh. As soon as he was entirely settled, his foot was prodded a third time, this time a heavy weight descending upon him, pinning his feet to the floor. He finally leaned over and looked under the table in confusion, before letting out a small laugh as the puzzle pieces clicked into place.

Yuugi was looking just a little _too_ innocent over there, his hands folded neatly and his head turned off to the side. He faltered and his lip quirked up in just the smallest degree. Really, Yami should have seen straight through his poker face _ages_ ago, but what can you do?

Other than fight back, of course.

Yami's feet quickly separated, and Yuugi's mouth opened the slightest bit in unsuspecting surprise as his feet his the floor. His small crack in composure soon turned into a wicked grin as he realized that Yami was playing along, eager for a game he was ready to win.

Their feet continued to work underneath the table, the foot war escalating to the point where a couple of guests gave them rude looks. Yami eventually was able to successfully pin Yuugi's feet to the floor, which left him panting from exhilaration and happy beyond compare. He felt like his life was coming together when Yuugi leaned forward over the table, hands splayed out on the smooth surface, nose crinkling as he smiled with Yami.

Yami couldn't resist the temptation to lean forward and press his nose against Yuugi's, foreheads following to bump together, as if they were looking into each other's eyes. Yami knew that he was making a bit of a display so he sat back, nervously looking around to make sure nobody was paying attention to that last part. He preferred that moments like that remain private at first, and here he was breaking his own rules. Oh, well. It's not like they were set in stone, anyway.

The waiter soon returned with the bread sticks and the Braille menu, handing it to Yuugi as he handed Yami the writing pad. They looked over the menu for a few moments before Yuugi told the waiter something and snapped the book shut, handing it back to him politely. He turned towards Yami and raised an eyebrow in question, looking down at the notepad before back up at Yami. Yami reached for it and wrote down something simple, one of the first things he saw that sounded appetising, before he shut the book too and handed it back, nodding his thanks to the waiter.

Yuugi was back at gently prodding his feet, and he let them swing back and forth together this time, not being forceful but rather just enjoying the slow and steady sway of contentment.

Since the restaurant wasn't all that busy, they got their food soon after that. By that time, Yami had already gone ahead and switched to the other side of the booth and his hand was resting lightly on Yuugi's, fingers slotting together like they were meant to fit. The waiter approached and set down their plates in front of them, flashing a smile as he asked if they would like anything else. Yuugi shook his head no with a smile, waiting until the waiter was gone to dig into his food.

All through dinner, Yuugi would gently brush up against Yami, skin touching momentarily in tentative displays of affection. They ate in a forced silence, but neither of them minded. When they were done, they just sat there contented for a little while, Yuugi's head resting on Yami's shoulder. The warmth from the gesture spread through Yami's whole body, and he knew he blushed when the waiter came back with the check, not used to public displays. He felt a small burst of pride at the smile he shot their way, though, and he gave Yami a small wink before disappearing to wait on other tables.

When they were finally ready to leave, Yuugi's hand slipped easily into Yami's, and they were easy and natural. They stayed close on the side walk to combat the cold, the warm feelings of love and affection helping with the cold. Everything felt like it had been hand set up in this moment, to be perfect for them. Yami felt like it was perfect.

Finally, the perfect end to a perfect night, should always be a kiss. They had arrived back at the hospital and Mai and Joey decided to give them their privacy, (and by that I mean they were spying around a corner instead of directly approaching the duo) so they were essentially alone. Yami stopped right outside Yuugi's door, Yuugi moving to face him on instinct. His back was pressed up against the door, and his expression showed that he was hopeful. He smiled up tentatively at Yami, taking a small breath and making their chests touch lightly.

When had they gotten that close? When had Yami been this close to anyone whom he actually desired to share his space with? He couldn't honestly remember. All he knew was that this time, with Yuugi, everything felt so startlingly _right_ that he couldn't ignore it. He leaned in just a little bit more, anticipation coiling tight in his stomach like a cobra ready to strike.

But, he couldn't lean forward the last half inch. No matter how much he tried to force himself, he felt like something was... _off._ He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but it seemed too cliché. They had just went on the most amazing first date he could have went on, but this felt almost customary. He didn't want their first kiss to feel forced, he wanted it to feel... natural.

So, he did the only logical thing he could think of.

He leaned forward, diverting his lips slightly to the side to aim for the cheek instead. He didn't want to not do anything, because Yuugi might think he had done something wrong if Yami didn't. So, he pressed his lips gently to flesh, then slowly pulled away, almost regretting doing so the whole time. Yuugi seemed a little confused, but he smiled and gave Yami a warm goodnight before he disappeared back into his bedroom.

Yami stood there for a second, dopey smile still plastered onto his face before he shook his head and turned back around, watching his own feet as he walked back to his room.

It might not have been the right time then, but he could feel that it was coming soon.

 


	9. First Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks again for the amazing amount of support I'm recieving on this story! I wanted to say that I am touched by all the beautiful reviews I have gotten :-). My next puzzleshipping story will be updating less frequently, as I will be working on some Christmas present fanfics (A second chapter to my story "Does this Count as a Love Triangle?" will be added,) and some Supernatural fanfiction, which some of you know me to write. By "Less frequently" I'm thinking in the realms of one chapter every month for a little while. It may end up speeding up and it may not, depending upon how things go. Hey, this update was on time, though! Anyways, on with the story!

 

 

Chapter 8:

First Kiss

  
  


The next day, of course, Mai approached.

Yami was awoken by a hand landing on his shoulder and shaking him, rousing him from his sleep. He shook his head as he slowly woke up, the vivid colours of his dreams starting to fade and be replaced by the dull confines of reality. He sat up abruptly, jerking away from the hands that rested so firmly on his shoulders.

His vision blurred as light flooded his vision, and he flinched away from it. Slowly the colours started to come into clarity, a mess of blonde and purple and white and skin tone swirling to take on the shape of Mai valentine. He set his arm down, not even realizing he had lifted it to shield himself from the light, and his eyes assessed the surroundings. Mai was holding her key (the one that worked for all the hospital rooms) dangling from her right hand, and her eyebrow was raised.

“What are you doing in my room at,” Yami glanced over at his alarm clock, “Seven o'clock in the morning? Don't you have something to be doing?” He complained. He didn't have to get up for at least another hour.

Instead of answering his question, Mai sat down on the edge of his bed, straightening up her skirt (breaking uniform again, mind you,) and choosing her words. Yami waited patiently for her explanation, trying not to rush her. Mai always talked when she was good and ready, and he had a feeling that he knew what she was going to be talking about. He remembered last night clear as day, and knew exactly where she would think he went wrong.

“Why didn't you go ahead and kiss him, Yami?” She asked. Yami lifted his hands to respond, but she held up a finger to tell him to stop. Yami shut his mouth, willing to hear her out. She gave a small pause before continuing, “You were right there and you were so close, I think he was really expected you to kiss him. Dear, I love you to pieces and you know that I do, but you could have just made him think that you don't really like him. I don't know if you thought he didn't want to, or you got nervous and weren't sure yourself if you wanted to kiss him, but...” Mai paused again and then shook her head, letting her sentence trail off.

Yami felt a small pang of guilt. She was right, he could have made Yuugi feel like he hadn't liked him in the first place. At such a crucial stage in their relationship, a small mess up like that could make all of the difference, especially with all the barriers in place. So, the only logical thing to do, the only way to make sure this was fixed...

Was to break the barrier.

“I wanted to kiss him Mai, I really did,” He admitted, sitting up a little straighter. Confidence and hope were colliding with anticipation to make an odd concoction of determination in his stomach. Later, he didn't quite know how yet, but he could work that out later, he was going to kiss Yuugi. “It wasn't the right time, though. I know it will be soon, but you just have to let me think through how to make it special. This is something that's important to me, Mai.” He said. Mai's eyes crinkled as her lips quirked up in a small smile.

“All right then, if you insist. I'll leave you alone about it, but I just wanted to make sure you knew how important it was. I want you to be happy, that's all.” Mai said, giving a smile. She leaned forward just a little bit, her elbows gently brushing the sheets as she faced Yami with a twinkle in her eye, “So, what are you planning on doing?” She asked, not bothering to sign it.

Yami felt his stomach sink.

“Well, I'm not entirely sure. I don't know what would make the moment special. Do you have any ideas?” He asked. He knew he wanted to actually  _talk_ to Yuugi, and he knew that he was ready to. What he didn't know was the when and the where. They would have to be somewhere private, because Yami wanted Yuugi to be the  _only_  one to first hear his voice. Not only that, but the time would have to correspond with that. Yami didn't want to go some place knew, because he wanted it to be significant. He just didn't know right now what would be significant.

“I have no clue. You'll have to work all of that out yourself.” Mai told him, shaking her head. “You know him better than I do, Yami. And you've not even talked to him yet.” She said. “At least, not verbally.” She tagged on, almost as an afterthought. Yami nodded his head.

“I'll think of something.” Yami said, thoughtfully.

“I know you will.” Mai said, giving him a small wink. “And, just to make sure, I'm coming during your class today and picking you up to go have lunch with me. You can tell me what you've come up with then.” She said, flipping her hair. Yami rolled his eyes as Mai stood and stretched, throwing a wink over her shoulder as she exited the room.

Yami glanced back at the clock, giving an internal groan. He let his body simply fall back into place, shutting his eyes tightly against the sunlight slowly starting to become stronger and stronger through the window. His body relaxed and his mind returned to the fuzzy colours of his dreams as he faded off back to the land of sleep.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Or, in less general terms, his alarm clock did ring an hour later.

School was boring as usual, the end of Yami's senior year approaching fast. He only had two more months and didn't have to take end of course exams this year, since he would be going onto college. He'd already taken all major testing; ACT, SAT, etc. So he didn't see much of a point in paying attention in class. He did the bare minimum work, just enough to make sure Cecilia didn't have trouble passing him. He had to keep up his GPA , even if his ACT score was a solid 28.

So, he ended up waiting anxiously for Mai and thinking through things he could do with Yuugi to make the big moment special. He could take Yuugi to the place where they first met-- but that was the Cafeteria, and would be filled with people until it was closed. After it was closed, they might get in trouble for being back there, and getting chewed out by security wouldn't make for the most romantic evening. He could take Yuugi to the waiting room where they wrote to each other, but again, filled with people. Yuugi's room was significant to them, but it just didn't quite have that romantic spark Yami was going for. He couldn't think of anywhere.

“Yami, someone's here to see you.” Cecilia said. Yami's eyes drifted over to the window to see Mai standing patiently outside, a smile on her face. He felt a streak of confusion cloud his thoughts. What was Mai doing there at that time? Lunch wasn't for another hour. Was she going to cancel?

His stomach sunk at the thought. He really needed her advice right then; he didn't think he could deal with the headache that came trying to think up what he was going to do. He knew that Mai would have a good idea to help spark his creativity or would at least keep him from exploding with frustration.

He just had to think this through like a game. He had to strategize the best time and place to produce the optimum results from his kiss. It shouldn't be all that hard, but somehow, nothing he thought of felt  _right._  Yuugi would love it whatever he did, he knew, but this was more important than that. He couldn't quite explain it but; sometimes, in a game, he'd see the best option to take and have to go back and do something different. Not because it was no longer the best option, but because he felt like something better would come along down the road. Most of the time, this ended up to be true. He couldn't help but feel that now was one of these times.

He'd know what to do when the time was right. Or at least he would pretend like he would so he didn't go insane from worry.

The door swung open, Mai getting sick of having to wait for the teacher to get around to opening the door. She busted through with a smile on her face, her boots bouncing on the floor as she approached. Cecilia and her hadn't talked much, but for what they had, they'd enjoyed each other's company.

“Hey there, Teach, I was just wondering how booked Yami's schedule is for today?” She asked, her eyes sparkling. She held up her hand in a peace sign, attempting to appeal to Cecilia's inner hippie.

Not a lot of people in the class knew this, but Cecilia had actually been big in the anti war movement and protests. Of course, she'd never touched drugs in her life and would never dream of it, but it didn't change that that was a small part of her to this day. Of course, that didn't mean she wasn't still embarrassed about it. Yami only knew because Mai had found out when she mentioned that hippie clothing was coming back into style, and mentioned her enthusiasm to bring back bell-bottom jeans. Cecilia had embarrassedly admitted to her own streak of rebellion.

“I don't know, why, Mai?” She asked, blushing slightly at the peace sign. She had been a little more open about it after Mai had told her the new generation was going to bring it back, but she still didn't openly advertise it, and especially not to the students. Some parents could be pretentious and might claim she was a bad influence on their children.

“I was wondering if I could go ahead and get Yami now to go to lunch. The place I want to go is a twenty minute drive away, so I wouldn't be able to take him if we left during the regular lunch period.” She announced, still smiling. Cecilia paused, attempting to keep her strict and teacherly demeanour as she pretended to contemplate the proposition. “I'll bring you back a chilli dog.” Mai offered.

“Well, well,” Cecilia gasped, putting her hand to her chest in mock horror, “I can't believe you'd imply that I would be so easily swayed! I am a professional!” She exclaimed. A small pause passed between them and Mai raised her eyebrows. Cecilia let her hand fall back to her side. “Minus the onions.” She said flatly, waiting a moment before she broke character and gave Mai a subtle wink. Mai smiled and nodded her head, taking the mental note.

“Thanks, Cecilia.” Mai said, raising a hand in parting as she walked over to Yami's desk. “Get up, we're going out.” She commanded him, flipping her hair and marching out the classroom door, not bothering to check and make sure that Yami was following. He could hardly resist rolling his eyes at the display as he got out of his desk, gathering his things and putting them in a neat little pile. He turned to Cecilia.

“I'll probably be back before the end of the day, as long as she doesn't do anything too crazy.” Yami said, shaking his head. “So I'll just leave my stuff here for now.”

“I wouldn't put it past her.” Cecilia teased. “If you aren't back until later, I'll just leave the classroom door unlocked so you can come and get your stuff. I would go ahead and stay until you return, but tonight I have a date night with Pegasus.” She informed him, smiling as her eyes glazed over as if reliving fond memories of her husband. Yami's thoughts drifted back to the long-haired man; he could  _definitely_  see those two meeting at a hippie rally.

“Okay, thank you!” He signed, then quickly turned towards where Mai waited. She stood with her arms crossed and her back to him now, looking off into the distance. He walked out of class and gently nudged her arm, causing her to jump. She laughed it off before grabbing his hand and starting to pull him forward, towards the open elevator door. Once they were there, the questions started.

“You don't really have to drive twenty minutes to get where we're going, do you?” Yami asked, raising an eyebrow. Mai's eyes twinkled in mischief before she closed them, nodding her head.

“Twenty, five, when you think about it, there's not really that much of a difference.” Mai said flippantly, opening her eyes again. Yami noticed that she'd had a habit of sassing and generally speaking with her eyes closed, as if she not only didn't care about the reaction other people had to her words but actually refused to see it. Yami liked that about her; plus, he could always tell when she was bluffing on games when her eyes stayed closed just a little too long.

“You're a horrible person.” He told her, smiling. She smiled back, head turning towards the elevator door as they arrived on the first floor. She paused at the exit, waiting for Yami to get off to (he had to scoot past a family entering the elevator). As they were unloading, her hand drifted to her mouth and rubbed her chin in a gesture of thought.

“Say, do you want to invite Joey along?” Mai asked him, eagerly leaning forward. Her eyes sparkled at the name and he could see that she was hoping he would say yes. Joey would be fun to hang out with and made Mai happy, so Yami shook his head enthusiastically in agreement to the suggestion, letting a smile overtake his expression. “Okay, I'll be right back. You stay here.” Mai said excitedly.

A couple of minutes later, Joey came strolling around the corner with Mai. The three of them promptly discussed going to the usual pizza place, but Joey had actually won out with saying that there was a new hot dog cart on the edge of town, about ten minutes out, and Mai needed a chili dog anyway. So, the three of them piled into Joey's car, Mai calling shotgun and Yami gracefully accepting the back seat for the drive, going between watching Mai and Joey talk and looking out the window at traffic.

They arrived in fifteen minutes because Joey had taken a wrong turn, but it was well worth it. The hot dogs were great, and the New York scenery and smell of the city in his nostrils left Yami feeling slightly nostalgic; he had gone to this area of town with Anna before. As he ate his hot dog, Mai and Joey talked. Most people in that situation would feel like a blatant third wheel, but Yami couldn't feel like anything but a wanted friend in their presence. Mai made sure that he was occasionally included in the conversation, and they didn't act overly romantic around him.

As they sat, Yami thought through all that had happened in the last few months. So much has come to pass, it would be difficult to pinpoint a specific thing that would seem significant to Yuugi and would make their first kiss stand out. Yami was still a little nervous about having their first kiss-- it seemed almost too soon, but he knew that Yuugi wanted to and it was a gamble he was willing to take. After all, the worst thing that could happen would be Yuugi wanted to go back to being friends-- and while that would suck, Yami had never been one to force romance into relationships. He could deal with it.

As long as Yuugi was happy, he could be too.

Through all of his thoughts, though, he could not pinpoint one single location. He wanted to be able to make it special, Ra darnnit! He had no clue what to do, and even as Mai and Joey were throwing away their wrappers, he was sorting through places in his head. He had been distracted for a couple of minutes by Joey's antics, but for the most part he'd spent the lunch in deep thought, which wasn't what he'd meant to do. He wished things were simpler than this.

Mai and Joey laughed on the way home, Joey telling a joke that momentarily distracted Yami from his brooding thought. He'd laughed along with them, eager for the relief and warmth that spread through him at the action. Of course, he hadn't remembered that Joey had only spoken the joke; and that he wasn't supposed to have understood it.

“Whoa, Yami, are you laughing?” Joey questioned. Yami paused, his body freezing as his brain pinpointed why Joey had picked out the action. He quieted, flinching down in his seat. The car seemed to abruptly change to filled with slight tension and nervousness, most of which was Yami's. The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours before he finally shook his head yes, looking down for a moment.

“He can do that now.” Mai put in, unhelpfully. Joey sputtered, shaking his head back and forth for a moment to clear it before he gave a deep sigh, his eyes returning briefly to the road as the traffic moved forward. He turned back to Yami as soon as the car had stopped.

Yami was almost ready for him to be angry over not being told. It wouldn't be all that unreasonable. It had obviously been something that Yami had to work on for awhile, and the fact that he'd not yet told Joey of his new capability could be seen as a lack of trust. Of course, Joey had probably been noticing Mai speaking when she signed or heard rumours from the other nurses that had seen Yami go in and speak to Pegasus, but that didn't mean anything. He wouldn't have believed it unless he'd been told by Yami.

Joey had always been his most understanding friend, though, and Yami was relieved to see a smile stretch across his face, feeling his own lips twitch upwards in return. “That's good for you, buddy. I probably should have caught on before now, though.”

“Please. There could be an elephant in the room somewhere and you wouldn't “catch on” without somebody telling you to look for it.” Mai remarked from her side of the car, flashing her brilliant smile. Joey's face got a couple of shades darker in a blush, and Mai and Yami shared a laugh as he mumbled something that Yami couldn't quite catch.

“Well, you're one to talk.” Joey retaliated, even though it didn't make sense. The rest of the drive was spent laughing and exchanging words between the three friends, (or, well, signs in Yami's case) and generally goofing off. By the end of it, Yami felt much more relaxed than he had on the actual trip, and he was thankful that he no longer felt the stress that came with worry. Of course, his thoughts changed once they made it back to the hospital.

Yami noticed that they had burned quite a bit of time eating; he would only need to go to another hour of school today. He hopped out of the car eagerly, stretching as he left the vehicle. He waved his two best friends goodbye as he grabbed the doggy bag in which they had put Cecilia's chili dog, and ran to the elevator, pressing the button insistently. His foot tapped impatiently as the buttons lit up one by one, until the elevator finally stopped on his floor.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw how full it was. There had to be at least ten people crammed into the small space, and nobody looked like they were getting off. A few of them looked irritated that Yami was taking so long to get on, and he figured that this might not be the most pleasant of elevator rides if he decided to get on then. He smiled and waved, trying not to grimace as he turned and marched away from the open door. He saw out of the corner of his eye as he turned, a woman throwing her hands in the air in exasperation, and he was glad that he hadn't gotten on.

 _The hospital needs new elevators_ , Yami thought absently.

He took the steps two at a time, wanting to get back to class. He'd been gone long enough,a dn if his mind stayed unoccupied long enough, he started to freak out about STILL not knowing what to do for Yuugi. So, it was hardly three minutes later when he jogged up to the closed classroom door, slipping in soundlessly and leaving the chili cheese dog on Cecilia's desk, slinking back into his seat. She stood oblivious beside him, helping a student with some science work.

As she turned around, she let out a surprised yelp and jumped, a hand fluttering up to cover her chest in surprise and horror. Yami resisted the urge to laugh at her behaviour, shaking his head as she recovered from the fright. As soon as she had her senses back, her eyes honed in on the take out bag on her desk, and she signed Yami a quick thank you before walking up and grabbing it, slipping it into her usual lunch box in hopes of keeping it warm. She didn't ever eat in front of her students if they didn't have something to.

The rest of the class day seemed to fly by all too quickly for Yami, who clung onto the last minutes of the time like a dying man clings to the remains of his life. He flinched when school was called out, dutifully packing up his things before standing, backpack slung around his back, thoughts returning to panic almost immediately.

Suddenly, a warm hand on his shoulder made him jump. He turned around to come face to face with Cecilia, and he had the brief thought of,  _She certainly got me back for scaring her earlier,_  before his mind turned to confusion. She stepped back to sign to him, and spoke while she did. Yami noticed while she was talking that Yuugi was standing patiently beside her, looking antsy. “Yami, Yuugi would like to know if you would like to go on a walk today, and maybe hang out with him for a little while?” She inquired.

Yami almost face-palmed. He'd forgotten that Yuugi and him had a daily routine in his nervousness to figure out what he would do for their first kiss. “Of course I'd like to.” He assured, waiting until Cecilia had translated to reach forward and grab Yuugi's hand, gripping it firmly in his own. A small smile appeared on the other one's face, and it made Yami's heart flutter.

“Bye!” He signed one handedly, using the other to practically drag Yuugi out of the room. Cecilia waved back at them and smiled, her happiness radiating and seeming to encase her entire form, making her seem tranquil and peaceful and consistent. Yami loved Cecilia.

As soon as they were out of the class, his eyes started scanning. He walked down the hallway at an equally fast pace, slowing down just a little around the bend so that Yuugi wouldn't get hurt. As soon as they were around the corner, Yami stopped, looking again. When he found that they were in a more private area, he spun and stopped, and Yuugi accidentally walked right into his chest. He started to pull away and apologize, but one of Yami's hands snaked around his waist and held the other taught against his own body.

Time seemed to slow down as he gently pulled Yuugi close, trying to apologize with body language, since now didn't feel like the time to first speak. He tried to apologize for not moving fast enough, for being stupidly finicky about where they would have their first kiss, and most of all for almost forgetting him back there. Yami felt like the whole thing was just complicated that day, and he hoped for both of their sakes that it would get better.

Yuugi seemed to melt into the hug, leaning into Yami's shoulder. Yami experimentally lifted the hand circling his waist and moved it up to Yuugi's hair, ruffling it up the slightest bit, his fingers dancing trails along Yuugi's scalp. Yuugi must have liked it, because he pulled away from Yami's chest to lean fondly into his hand, and Yami let out a chuckle. At that, Yuugi broke into a toothy grin and gave a blush, waiting another moment before pushing Yami away. Yami was thankful that he didn't have to be the one to end the hug; they couldn't have just stood there all day.

The walk to Yuugi's room was quick and effortless after that, the warm and familiar presence walking alongside Yami making him feel comfortable and alive. This all seemed so normal and mediocre and beautiful, and it made Yami realize even more just how in love he was with Yuugi. If someone can make even the most mediocre of things feel special and exciting and new to you, you want to hang on to them.

When they finally arrived, they strolled into the poorly lit room, Yami not even bothering to turn on the light. Yuugi let go of Yami's hand and stumbled over to his bed, hopping up onto the cool sheets as he kicked his shoes off and lay back in the bed, completely exhausted from the day of work.

Just then, Yami noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. If he hadn't been so observant, or if Yuugi had turned on the bedroom light, he never would have been able to see it. But, there, outlined in the glorious sunlight filtering through the window, creating a perfect shadow against the curtains, was the flower Yami had picked for Yuugi. Captivated and no longer thinking about his partner sitting eagerly against the cool mattress, Yami walked forward and pulled aside the curtains, having to know whether or not his eyes were deceiving him.

He saw the wilted blue flower, the ends turning brown, pitifully sagging in a half-filled vase. It sat untouched except for a couple of petals that had slowly fallen off, too dead and too weighted to stay attached to the stem. Yami knew that the nurses came in to clean almost every day, and that they would have taken something like this out of the room had they saw it. Of course, there was always the possibility that they hadn't seen it, but it wasn't a huge one. Certainly not one he would consider, not when he saw the small note in the corner.

It was wedged by the flower pot good and tight, and Yami almost missed it. He dully noted in the back of his mind that if the pot were to be lifted, someone would most definitely see it flutter down to the floor. In Yuugi's neat handwriting, it read, 'Do not throw away.'

Yami slowly replaced the paper, his head swirling with thought and ideas. Did that day really mean that much to Yuugi, that he would cherish the flower even when it was wilted? Even when the last softness had gone and been replaced with crisp petals and rough textures, even when everything appealing about the flower had slowly faded, Yuugi had kept it. It was rubbed away in certain areas, as if the petals had been handled fondly many times, maybe in life and definitely in death. Despite the fact that the flower was gone, had been gone for a long time, Yuugi cherished it enough to keep it by his bedside, even writing a note asking the nurses not to throw the pitiful thing away.

Did this flower really mean that much to Yuugi?

Yami knew it wasn't the flower, though. No, it was the premise behind it. It was the fact that Yami had given him that flower, the fact that Yami had thought about him, and Yuugi had cared about it and remembered that day enough to keep it with him. Yami thought that the sincerity and innocence of the act was one of the most adorable things he'd ever witnessed; Yuugi keeping something for so long, when they'd only been friends for a couple of weeks at the time, meant more to him than you could ever imagine.

Yuugi found the flower significant, he found the action significant, he would find the garden significant. The garden was quiet and peaceful and nobody ever went there, and at night you would be allowed to sneak a boom box up and play it out on the porch, the smell of the flowers all around while the sounds of the city seem to fade off into the distance. Some place they would both think of as significant, probably for as long as they lived. Some place that Yami thought would be absolutely perfect for your first kiss with someone.

Yami walked back to Yuugi's bed with a dopey smile on his face, climbing in and wrapping his arms around Yuugi, still grinning like a fool. He felt like a huge weight had just been lifted from his chest, like all of his worries and anxieties had just drifted away, like he had this thing in the bag. Yuugi nuzzled back into his touch, something he never would have done had there been people around, and Yami tried to concentrate on what he would tell Yuugi to get him there.

For now, he just needed to find a way to tell Mai of his plan.

Fortunately, he need not wait long.

Mai busted through the door to Yuugi's room, laughing as she closed the door and leaned against it, sinking down the floor and out of sight. Yuugi sat straight up in startled surprise, his body moving just the slightest bit away from Yami's in an attempt to be more socially acceptable. Mai gave both of them a heavy shush before the room sat still, seconds ticking by like a turtle making its way across a roadway. Yami waited impatiently for an explanation to the antics.

“I'm hiding from Joey.” She finally admitted, smiling broadly. Suddenly, it seemed to have just occurred to her that she could be interrupting something, as she looked in between Yami and Yuugi sitting so close and raised an eyebrow. The expression physically hurt. She raised her hands so she could talk to Yami without Yuugi knowing or hearing the exchange. “So, you finally decide that Yuugi's room is special enough, or were you two that close for other purposes?” She questioned hopefully.

“Actually, I did think of a place.” He explained. Her eyes lit up with promise.

“Hey Yuugi, I think I need to take Yami for at least a couple of minutes, maybe a little longer if things go good. Sorry sweetie.” She said aloud. Yami started to protest, his hands trying to explain that he would talk to her later, but to no avail. She marched over determinedly and grabbed a hold of his arm, practically dragging him out of bed and across the floor to the door. He grumbled as he finally relented and walked outside with her, stopping outside the door and standing with his arms crossed expectantly. She put her hands together enthusiastically, wiggling.

“What did you have in mind?” She practically gushed. Mai had never acted this excitable before, and it caught Yami a little off guard. Instead of giving her snark or complaining about how she'd been just a little bit rude dragging him out of the bed, he decided to give her a straight up answer.

“Fine. I was planning on going to the garden on the top floor and sitting on the bench with some blankets. I was thinking about having a radio up there for Yuugi, since he can't look at the stars. When we're up there, I'm going to talk to him and then give him a kiss. Happy?” Yami asked. Mai paused, narrowing her eyes into slits.

“Okay, fine. I'll go get the radio set up and you go pick out some warm blankets. The flowers may be out up there, but that doesn't mean it's not cold as balls. I'll tell Yuugi to put on a sweater and eventually bring him up to the place later tonight so he doesn't know it's a surprise from you until he's there.” Mai said, sitting up straight and flipping her hair. She had returned to her usual no-nonsense self, and she wasn't about to take any crap from anyone. What she said went, and this was no exception.

Besides, Yami like the ideas, anyway.

Which is how he ended up sitting alone in the garden late at night, a plethora of blankets piled up around him to donate warmth and an ancient boom box he couldn't hear softly playing what was supposed to be mood-setting music. He shifted uncomfortably, glancing back again at the glass doors he was so eagerly awaiting the opening of. He turned back and sat with his eyes closed, humming softly to himself as he went through what he was going to say in his head. The large blue bloom he held in his hand, fresh from the bush, brushed against his skin as he swayed his body slightly to pass the time, hoping to take out some nervous energy.

He should have noticed the small burst of air on his back as Yuugi was shoved outside and into the garden, should have felt another presence as it slowly felt around with the walking cane, searching for what could possibly be waiting out here.

Yami felt it when a hand landed gently on his shoulder, and his own hand reached up to cover it, fingers intertwining as the hand lifted from his shoulder and pressed into his own, a smile coming over his companion's face. Yuugi drops his cane then, because he knows that Yami will take care of them, and Yami would go to the ends of the earth to make sure he never takes that trust for granted. Nobody would ever hurt Yuugi, nobody.

He leads Yuugi over to the seat, and his friend sits down, butt firmly in place on one of the blankets Yami brought. He grabbed another one, a woodsy pattern with a bear and a moose on it, and drapes it over Yuugi's shoulders. Even with the added heat, Yuugi scoots closer in the darkness, like he just couldn't go two seconds being farther away than necessary. Like Yami was gravity to his ungrounded soul, holding him in place and keeping him steady. Like they were two magnets, who couldn't help that every fibre of their being wanted to be close.

Yami's arm came to drape around Yuugi so easily, almost too easily, and Yuugi's head was resting lightly on Yami's shoulder. A hand was placed on a knee and a quick kiss to the forehead before Yami's eyes turned to the stars, watching the skies dance high above them. He couldn't see them very well; after all, this was New York, but he'd always dreamed they were more beautiful other places. Here, with Yuugi, they seemed almost like they were able to be seen. Almost like they were reaching out to specifically shine on the two that night.

Yami turned to Yuugi, affection radiating from deep down in his core, screaming at him that now was the time, and he took a shaky breath. This was the one that had been with him for the past two months, gotten through the communication barrier and remained his friend, had given him his first date and helped him come to terms with the fact that he wasn't entirely straight. He had loved this person almost as soon as he had laid eyes on him, even though he'd been too frazzled and confused to acknowledge it at the time.

Now, he noticed that Yuugi's lips were softly moving, nonsense lyrics.

 _“Kiss me hard before you go,”_  He sang, “ _Summertime sadness.”_

Yami wished he could hear Yuugi sing, but he figured that having Yuugi hear him talk would be sufficient enough.

“Y-Yuugi,” He croaked out. The younger boy's head whipped towards him, shock and joy both in equal parts his expression. Yami couldn't help but give a small smile, continuing with what he had planned to say, even if he could feel his voice snagging and knew it wasn't perfect. He knew that Yuugi didn't expect him to be perfect. “Will... Will y-you kiss m-me?” He questioned, finally spitting out the words.

Yuugi smiled broadly, and Yami quickly unfolded their intertwined hands, placing the stem of the blue flower that he had in the palm of his love. Yuugi's hand closed around it before he lifted it to his face, inhaling the rich scent as he let the petals dance across his skin. The blue contrasted with the pale white of his skin, making him seem almost ghostly for a second. Dangerous and beautiful. He didn't need Yami to protect him, but he let the other. Yami liked that.

“You learned to speak?” Yuugi asked gently, when he put the flower down. Yami paused, uncertain if the question was rhetorical or not. When he didn't respond, Yuugi continued, “You literally  _learned a language_  on my behalf, and all you want is a kiss? That doesn't sound fair to me.” Yuugi said, making sure he was facing Yami. Yuugi wasn't stupid; if Yami knew how to talk, he knew how to read lips now. “No, I have something I'd like to show you.” Yuugi said. Yami waited patiently as Yuugi's eyes began to flutter open, revealing something that hadn't been seen since they stopped being useful.

Yami let out a gasp. Yuugi's eyes were  _beautiful._  Some may have compared them to amethyst; however, that wasn't what Yami saw. No, Yami saw the universe, the nebula, all the most beautiful purples and pinks and the lightest hints of blue hiding within those eyes, the colours that wrap around the stars and blot out the black, leaving it a swirling pool spilling out of the centre. Yuugi's pupils, instead of being normal, were broken and spilling out to cut through the nebula with an absolute black, leaking a couple of centimetres down to create the effect that someone was pouring his pupils out of a pitcher. So that was why he couldn't see.

“You can kiss me, now.” Yuugi mumbled, looking down and blushing. His eyes closed again quickly after that, him being too self conscious to show off for too long. Yami sat there stunned, unable to react, until suddenly, his body moved of it's own accord.

It was like watching it happen in slow motion, like he wasn't even controlling his own body, like the thought briefly crossed his mind and then he was reaching out without having given himself the command, his hands lightly grasping the other's face in between them and pulling him closer and closer, until...

The soft of their lips met, and Yami felt a warmth like never before spread through his body. It felt like they were talking with their very souls; like they were thinking with the same mind, one person. They both moved together, Yami leaning forward and Yuugi leaning back until their entire torsos were pushed up against each other's, wet lips still gently moving against each other as both felt like their hearts were going to pound out of their rib cages, and oh, no other kiss had ever felt that way before, oh.

They finally broke apart, panting, and Yami pulled away. Yuugi, instead of letting him go, wrapped his arms around Yami's neck with a look of determination and brought him back for one more quick peck before sitting up on the bench, leaving Yami stunned and happy. It wasn't long before he was laying his head on Yami's shoulder, their silhouetted forms barely visible in the dim moonlight.

 

The next day, a new, healthier flower sat inside the vase with the old one on Yuugi's windowsill.


	10. Options, Opportunities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I ended up skipping an update. I have a lot of stuff going on right now, but I appreciate the patience.

Chapter 9:

Options, Opportunities

  
  


A month passed, and graduation was through. The two caps had flown into the air, Yami and Yuugi both having passed the year with flying colours. Only a couple more months for each of them until they would be able to move out on their own, no longer tied to the hospital by the bounds of law. Yami would receive his college funds and Yuugi his parent's stocks and funds, and they would go out on their own to explore the world and make their own ways.

But, for now, they would just enjoy the summer in each other's company.

For example, right now, they were sitting in the garden where they'd had their first kiss, legs brushing up against each other's lightly as they swung back and forth, enjoying the cool summer breeze. The radio was playing softly in the background and Yami saw Yuugi singing along, and he wished again that he could hear the sound of Yuugi's voice.

This was enough, though. He was happy like this. He knew so much about Yuugi now, they had gotten to share things with each other that Yami was certain they never would have shared with anyone else. As he got better and better at talking, he and Yuugi did it more and more, growing closer and closer. He honestly felt like Yuugi was one of the highlights of his life and he knew that Yuugi felt the same way. No matter what, they would stay close and find a way to make things work. If somebody had asked him then who he would marry, he would have said Yuugi.

Of course, he'd gotten to find out why Yuugi cried sometimes at night, too.

He'd been walking to his room from the water cooler just a week ago, trying to subtly go past Yuugi's to check on him. He hadn't cried in the last three weeks, but Yami still liked to be sure that nothing was bothering him. He didn't want Yuugi to be in pain.

The door was slightly cracked, like it was that first night. Like it hadn't been since, even if he was crying. Yami approached cautiously, his feet scooting along on the floor as he leaned forward and pushed the door aside, checking into the dark room. His eyes scanned along the walls and floors for a moment, taking in the familiar scenery, before they finally came to the dark form of Yuugi.

He was curled up on the bed, hands looped around his knees as he cried softly. His form shook and shuddered with what seemed to be the weight of the world, and Yami longed to fix whatever had made him so sad. He couldn't help himself; he snuck forward slowly and approached the bed, his hands curling around the metal bars on either side as he leaned over and slowly placed a kiss on the top of Yuugi's head. The other seemed not to notice at first, but within a couple of seconds stiffened up, raising his head slowly in question.

“Yami?” He asked softly, his eyes flickering open. As they always did, those eyes caused a flutter in Yami's heart like nothing else ever could. His breath got caught in his throat as he tried to respond, and he found himself entirely unable to form the words. So, instead, he reached out and ran a hand gently along Yuugi's tear-streaked face, stopping at his chin. Yuugi leaned into the touch like he was a cat starved of attention, and his whole demeanour softened. It wasn't long before he was scooting over, allowing Yami passage into his bed.

Yami willingly scooted in, nuzzling Yuugi affectionately before he reached down and grabbed the covers, pulling them back over both of their bodies. Yuugi was silent for a little while, just letting Yami hold him. Their communication was silent, as it had been before Yami had learned to speak, and neither of them minded. It was like they just knew what the other was thinking sometimes, and now was one of those times. Yuugi needed silence for a little while.

Soon, though, the silence became repetitive. It became just a little too comfortable. Yuugi knew he had to talk to Yami, tell him what was bothering him, get it off of his chest.

“You know, I feel like it's my fault.” Yuugi said, smiling just the slightest bit, even as tears streamed down his face. Yami's eyebrows furrowed as he read Yuugi's lips, a frown appearing on his face. “That I didn't know them. It was my fault they sent me away, and now they're gone. I just... I wish things could have been different, you know? Maybe if I had opened up more, put forth more of an effort to talk to them once I was there, they would have talked to me. I know it's not my fault that they're...” He tried to choke out the word, but 'dead' got caught in his throat, “gone. But I feel like it's my fault I didn't know them better beforehand.” He admitted. “Now, that chance in gone.”

“No.” Yami said immediately, shaking his head. He leaned forward to pepper kisses all along Yuugi's face, the tears leaving as his lips pushed them away. When he was done, he simply held Yuugi's face in his hands, looking into the eyes that couldn't look back at his own. “It wasn't your fault. You make everyone around you so happy. You make Mai and me and Joey so happy. If they didn't want to e around you or didn't put forth the effort, it's entirely on them. You tried. That's all that matters.” Yami said feverently. Yuugi's eyes filled with tears again, but he nodded his head.

“I love you.” Yuugi said.

Yami's eyes widened. Yuugi hadn't said that before, and Yami hadn't thought them far enough along to make that move yet. He knew with every fibre of his being that it was true, though. He and Yuugi were in love, deep and wide and stunningly beautiful, love. He'd never felt this strongly towards another human being. He never would.

“I love you, too.” Yami said, placing a kiss on Yuugi's forehead again. Yuugi gave a sigh and snuggled up to him, eyes closing as he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

They slept together that night, cuddled close until the sun came up.

Of course, things had gotten better since Yami had told Yuugi that. Yuugi had gotten more confident, less sad, and most of all, he'd been joyful. He'd told Yami countless times that he was so happy they'd met, and Yami couldn't help that his heart bursted with joy every time. They spent almost every waking minute together, with Joey and Mai there at times.

Yami felt a woosh of cooler air as the door behind him opened. He turned, his arm still around Yuugi, and he was surprised to see a nurse coming through. He looked like she meant business. Her arms were across her chest and her feet were splayed apart, showing that she would _not_ be argued with. “I need the patient Yuugi Mutou. The doctor would like to speak with him.” She announced.

Yami frowned as Yuugi stood up, retrieving his cane from where it sat beside the bench. He nodded his head and turned, giving Yami a small kiss on the cheek goodbye before he followed the nurse out the door. Yami was alone, the radio still playing uselessly beside him, and he felt his shoulders deflate. He soon stood up, finding the loneliness to be exhausting, and walked back to the door, going back inside the hospital.

He knew what he would do.

It had been at least a couple of weeks since he'd seen Mokuba, and he missed the little devil like mad. His high energy and enthusiasm was starting to make Yami miss spending time with him gaming. He'd been spending his free time with Yuugi lately, for the most part, and he didn't want to end up obsessed with his relationship. He had other friends and other commitments, and it would be silly to give those up for more time with someone, even if he _did_ like Yuugi best.

He eagerly walked towards Mokuba's bedroom, opening the door and immediately walking in. He almost fell over when he was hugged out of nowhere, hands wrapping around his torso and almost sending him flying backwards into the hallway. His back hit the hall wall before he could fall, and he stared blankly out for a couple of seconds, too stunned to look and see _who_ exactly had their arms around his waist. Finally, he gathered his wits and looked down, a satisfied smile flashing onto his face as he saw who it was.

“Mokuba, you're getting stronger.” He said out loud, wrapping his arms around the younger boy. “Keep that up and you'll be going home in just a couple of months.”

Mokuba had been rapidly increasing, even more than the other boy in his condition. He was growing again, eating a ton, spending a lot of time now sneaking out of his room and running around the hospital, and most of all, talking non-stop about how excited he would be to go back home with his big brother once he was better. Seto may have acted like a dick to everyone else, but he was kind and gentle and loving to Mokuba, and his mood around the hospital (especially towards Mai) since Mokuba had started to get better had become more one of slight appreciation and less one of believing the entirety of the place to be incompetent. Of course, he still did have some problems with...

“WHEELER, you _will_ treat me with more respect. My funding towards this hospital probably pays your check, I'd suggest you shut up before I get you fired. Don't think that I can't.” Kaiba boomed from across the hallway, followed by a very annoyed Joey.

“All I said was that the stupid coat makes you look ridiculous. How do you expect people to even take you seriously when your hips are so pointy they could kill a small child?” Joey demanded, waving his hand around in exasperation. Mokuba pulled away from Yami and turned towards the bickering, his eyes lighting up as his smile became even wider. He loved it when his brother came and visited him, but he loved it more when his brother _and_ Joey came to see him.

This development had started around three weeks ago. Joey had walked into the room while Kaiba was trying to visit, and things had slowly gone downhill with bickering and fighting, and they just wouldn't leave each other alone. Now, most people would think that this would bother Mokuba, but it actually did the opposite. Mokuba knew that Seto actually enjoyed Joey's company, because with anyone else he would just ignore them. With Joey, he put forth the effort to actually fight back and talk to someone other than Mokuba, for which the young boy was grateful in seeing. Joey stuck around Kaiba, too, which proved that the feeling wasn't one-sided. Not to mention that Mokuba loved how sassy both of them would get in the other's presence; it was great entertainment.

“Are they always like this?” Yami asked Mokuba, raising an eyebrow. Mokuba turned around from Seto, (he'd thrown his arms around his brother, and Kaiba had stiffened up, trying not to look affected by the affection) nodding his head with a smirk. His arms were still wrapped around Kaiba, and the older was trying desperately not to look awkward standing there without hugging back.

“Would it kill you to show some affection sometime?” Joey growled, crossing his arms. Seto rolled his eyes, but he actually listened, wrapping his arms loosely around Mokuba and giving a small squeeze.

“Happy now?” He asked Joey once Mokuba had pulled away. Joey paused, not sure of what to say.

“I guess.” He finally choked out, turning towards the wall and crossing his arms. Yami smiled; Joey was a little too confrontational for his own good sometimes, it would definitely be good for him to have someone to fight with occasionally. He could see the two of them getting to be okay friends, even if Kaiba was still a mega douche for talking down to Yuugi. Yuugi had told him in private though that he didn't really blame him; he was going through a lot with Mokuba's relapse. Yami, as reluctant as he was to forgive Kaiba, agreed that he could still understand and sympathize with the situation.

“So, how have you been?” Yami asked Mokuba, once he'd returned to neutral ground. Mokuba smiled radiantly as he launched into a story about how he thought he was going to be off of the medication soon and he'd been practising his sign language with Rebecca, whom had told him he had the skills to professionally translate. He talked about his video games and his happiness over the new Harry Potter book and movie coming out, and mentioned that Mai had given him clearance to leave the hospital and get lunch with Seto as long as he was back in forty minutes.

The three of them listened intently, (well, Yami read his lips intently,) adding their own comments into the mix, and the conversation was civil for the most part. By the time Mai came and tapped him on the shoulder, Yami had already forgotten that Yuugi had gone to speak to his doctor.

However, when he turned and saw Mai's face, he knew that something had happened.

“Yami, did you hear the news?” She asked, her voice shaking with excitement. She was radiating happiness and joy, her eyes alight with the possibilities that lay ahead. Yami was almost taken aback by how joyful she seemed; Mai never showed this much emotion.

“What news? Did something good happen?” He questioned, tilting his head to the side. Mai nodded her head vigorously, grabbing his arm as if to steady him. She looked him in the eyes, as if wondering if he was joking. When she came to the conclusion that he was telling the truth, she let go of him, nodding her head up and down. She calmed her excitement, returning to her usual blasé attitude.

“Yes, something great happened. I'd tell you myself, but you might want to hear it from him. Let's go, hotshot.” She said, gesturing towards the hallway. Yami tilted his head in confusion, but he nodded his head as Mai turned, assuming that he'd follow. After throwing a goodbye to Mokuba and Joey over his shoulder, (ignoring Kaiba completely, which Kaiba seemed okay with) he turned and walked after her, curiosity driving him forward.

“Mai, can you at least give me a clue?” He questioned, jogging a little to catch up. Despite that he'd said it out loud and he knew that she could hear him, she didn't even acknowledge that he'd spoken, too excited to stop to say no. Yami rolled his eyes as he continued walking, figuring that trying to get her attention again would produce the same results. Even though he was as curious as he'd get out, he knew Mai couldn't be stopped once she set her mind to something, and she'd have to slow down to give him a hint.

Soon, they were standing outside of Yuugi's door, and Mai paused to knock. It was almost entirely pointless, seeing as how she barged in anyway without waiting for an answer, but at least it let Yuugi know that someone was there. He was sitting in his bed with a smile on his face, his closed eyes leaking tears that were clearly happy down his face and onto the sheets. Yami didn't think he'd seen Yuugi smile that wide since right after their first kiss. Whatever was happening, he immediately liked it if it made Yuugi this darn happy.

“What's going on?” Yami asked, walking to the side of the bed. Yuugi smiled his brightest smile and laughed a little, throwing his head back and just generally enjoying himself. He looked like all of his troubles had just been lifted off of his shoulders, and it made Yami crave to know what had made him so jovial.

“I'm going to be able to see.” He announced vibrantly, giving a rich, long sigh. “There's a surgery the doctors can give me once I turn eighteen, I might be able to see.” He said.

Yami felt his jaw drop open. Yuugi was going to be able to see?! That was fantastic! He would be able to look Yami in the eyes and tell him that he loved him, he'd be able to walk without the cane, he'd be able to stop worrying over things like where he was or if something bad would happen and he wouldn't be able to see to stop it. Even if he could still do the same things as other people blind, Yuugi wanted to be able to see the views again. He wanted to be able to watch the sunset with Yami. He'd be able to do that now, and it was great.

“Well, there's only a 50% chance it will work, since it is experimental,” Mai explained. Yami still couldn't get the smile off of his face. “And if it does, he'll still have trouble seeing colours.”

“But I'll be able to read again, Yami. I'll be able to drive as long as I can tell the difference between red and green, and I'll be able to actually _see_ you. I'm so happy Yami, you just don't know-- I'm, I'm just,” Yuugi was starting to get choked up with happiness again, and Yami walked over to him, wrapping the younger boy in a large hug. Yuugi leaned in to Yami's warm arms and relaxed, and Yami could feel the tension leaving his body as he calmed down some. He was still nervous, Yami could tell.

“That's great.” Yami said in his ear. “I'm so happy for you, aibou.” He purred. Yuugi smiled and shrugged him off, blushing a little bit at the intense display of affection in front of Mai, who was standing with her hands on her hips now, looking fed up with the two of them.

“Don't quite celebrate yet.” She said, shaking her head. “There's still only a 50% chance. It's great and awesome and I hope that it works, but don't get your hopes up too much, Yuugi.” She reminded him. Yuugi tensed up again, nodding his head. Yami glared at her.

“Don't worry, I'm sure things will turn out okay. You just have to believe that they will. You deserve this, Yuugi.” He announced confidently, puffing his chest out in defiance of the negativity. Yami was a big believer in positive energy; he knew that if you believed something hard enough, you could make it a reality through hard work and just a little luck. He was confident that Yuugi would make it through okay.

“Yeah, I know what you think. They said that they can do the surgery in a couple more weeks, after my birthday.” Yuugi said. “Actually, the only reason they hadn't mentioned it before was because I was too young to have it done. I have to be eighteen to sign for myself to have it.” Yuugi reminded him. Yami shook his head, remembering that Yuugi's birthday was coming up in early July. He'd almost forgotten that Yuugi was actually a little older than him, probably thanks to the height difference more than anything.

“Well, I'll be eagerly awaiting the day, aibou. I'll be there for you as soon as you open your eyes again for the first time.” He said, nodding his head. Yuugi's answering smile lit up his face, and he nodded his head again.

“I know you will. We're a team, Yami. You would be there for me no matter what, and I would return the favour.” Yuugi confirmed, raising up a hand to get a high five. Yami's hand smacked into Yuugi's and Yuugi wrapped his fingers around the other's, too quick for Yami to pull away. Yami's eyes softened as the warmth of the hand hold echoed through his body like a shout; _Familiar! Safe! Love!_

“You'd better be careful now, Yami.” Mai said, using sign language so that Yuugi couldn't hear what she was saying, “Yuugi will see the way you look at him like a love sick puppy if he ends up able to see.” She reminded him. Yami felt his face heat up, but he refused to allow himself to show any other signs of embarrassment as he glared at her, not wanting to take his hand out of Yuugi's to sign anything back. “Actually, I'm going to leave you two love birds alone for now, to have some private time.”

She'd spoken out loud this time, and Yuugi nodded his head in response.

She walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Yami had immediately climbed into the bed with Yuugi, running his fingers through the other's hair. Yuugi snuggled back into him, humming a little. He turned once Yami was situated, so that the other could see his lips.

“Will you read to me, Yami?” He asked. Yami had read out loud to Yuugi several times since he'd started talking, because it was a great exercise for him and Yuugi loved to hear his voice. Yuugi had told him in private (blushing like mad) that he thought Yami's voice was sort of sexy. Not to mention that Yuugi had missed reading terribly; reading in Braille just wasn't the same as it was reading it yourself. Hearing it wasn't much better, but it would work for him.

Yami reached over across Yuugi's chest to grab the book of Grimm's fairy tales he'd been using, picking it up and flipping it open to _The Little Mermaid._ This was one that didn't end well, but Yuugi liked it anyway. He sat up, wrapping his arm around the smaller one and holding the book open with his free hand, clearing his throat as he began to read.

His voice filled the room and caressed Yuugi's ears, to the point where Yuugi was barely even paying attention to the story. He listened for as long as he could, trying to make his eyelids stay open as the temptation of sleep coiled around his body and tried to drag him under. He resisted, hanging onto the sweet sound of Yami's voice for as long as he could before finally giving in, letting the tendrils pull him into a deep, deep sleep.

Yami looked down when the story was done, his vocal cords sore from talking without a break. He smiled a little bit when he saw the smaller boy asleep leaning against him, and suddenly, he felt sleepy himself. The book fell from his hands as his eyes became heavy, the sound of it hitting the floor causing Yuugi to briefly stir. Yami ran a hand through his hair again to comfort him, sufficiently lulling him back to sleep. He scooted down carefully, trying not to disturb Yuugi as his body slid down so that his head could find refuge on the pillow. He knew that if he got up to find his own room Yuugi would awaken, so it would be better to fall asleep with him.

So, Yami let himself slowly fade off into sleep.

The time would pass in the blink of an eye.

Joey was happy for Yuugi, he really was. He'd been spending more time with Mai and Seto, (whom, of course, he would deny taking a liking to) with Mokuba as well. In fact, Mokuba came with him almost everywhere now, since he was mobile. So, Joey was happy for Yuugi, but couldn't find the time to really talk to him with everything else that was going on.

For example, now, he was grumpily walking down the street with Seto and Mokuba, wishing that the first of the two hadn't forced himself into the mix when he visited, insisting that he should go if the other two was going out. Since Seto legally had rights to Mokuba, it was either say yes or Mokuba wouldn't be able to go, and well... Joey hated to say yes, but he'd been planning on taking Mokuba out to iced cream for two months now, so he wasn't about to reschedule just because Seto felt like being a dick. That, and he'd offered to pay, which was very appealing seeing as how Joey was flat broke.

The street was crowded with people, so the three of them had to keep close to avoid getting swept up in the large crowd. Joey felt a particularly insistive bump from the side that Seto had claimed to walking on, and he let out a short growl. “Watch where you're going, Rich Boy!”

“Maybe if you didn't act like such a mutt, I'd take notice as to where you were walking.” Seto retaliated, glaring at Joey. They continued to glare heatedly as they walked, not paying attention to where they were going. Joey felt a tug at his foot and his body fell forward as he threw out his hands to catch himself, arms flailing as he tried to keep on balance.

His face hit the ground hard, and he let out a small puff of breath as he collided with the concrete. Mokuba erupted into laughter from Seto's other side, holding his belly as his form shook with joy. Seto even let his lip tip upward the tiniest bit, the closest thing he'd ever done to a smile around Joey. Joey's face heated up as the laughter continued, in anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure.

Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of his face. He looked at it quizzically, following the arm up to see that it was Seto's. Surprise crashed through him as he reached up to take the hand offered, using it to pull himself up on the pavement again. He waited for Seto to make a comment about his falling, but even after Mokuba stopped laughing, they stood there in utter silence. Things were slightly awkward.

“You were blocking the road. Come on, let's go before you trip over thin air again, Mutt.” Seto mumbled. Mokuba started laughing again, the tension in the air replaced with happiness. Joey decided not to ruin the light mood with a retort, so he just turned and walked again, a small smile on his face. Yeah, Seto was a jerk, but he made Mokuba laugh and obviously wasn't too heartless if he helped him up. Maybe he was even an okay person.

They walked the rest of the way to the iced cream shop laughing and arguing, tension turning into something just a little less tense as the two learned to relax more and more, as they had been doing for awhile now. Mokuba eventually switched to Seto's other side and held both of their hands before finally giving up and climbing on Joey's back for a piggy back ride, because he was too tired to walk all the way there himself.

Once they were finally to the shop, they walked in, and the cool air overcame them. Joey had called Mai on Mokuba's request about halfway there and asked if she wanted to meet them since it was her day off, and she'd eagerly agreed. She would be there in ten minutes, but had encouraged them to go ahead and order before she got there. Kaiba picked out a table and set his coat at one of the chairs to reserve it, and Joey and Mokuba waited patiently in line for their iced cream.

Finally, they made it to the front of the line.

“I'd like a chocolate cone!” Mokuba declared, smiling brightly at the woman behind the counter. She had large, blue eyes, and almost entirely white hair down to her waist, with a thin form and smile lines around her eyes. She seemed gentle, fragile, but lying just underneath, she was strong.

“I'll take a chocolate milkshake, and a bowl of cherry cordial for Mai.” Joey said, nodding his head at the woman. She smiled at him, and it lit up her face like she was glowing. “What will Seto want?” Joey asked Mokuba.

“He'll want plain vanilla in a bowl. He's not very adventurous.” Mokuba said. Joey nodded his head at the girl and she took down the orders, telling them their total. Mokuba slid the money he'd been given across the counter, telling the woman to keep the change. Her eyes widened, (knowing Seto, he probably gave Mokuba a fifty) and she nodded her head, thanking them.

“I'll bring it to you when it's done, if you'd like.” She said, smiling at them.

They walked back to the table to find Mai and Seto sitting across from each other, neither one saying anything. As soon as Joey saw his girlfriend, he ran to her side, throwing his arms around her neck enthusiastically. Mai rolled her eyes before turning her head, nuzzling Joey's nose before leaning in for a quick kiss. When the affectionate display had ended, Joey sat down next to her and Mokuba next to Kaiba.

“So, how was work today?” Mai broke the ice.

“It was okay.” Joey responded with a shrug.

The waitress came out with the iced cream on a platter, setting Mokuba's in front of him and then the milkshake and cherry cordial in front of Mai and Joey, before finally reaching Seto.

As she looked up at him, she froze, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Seto glanced up to look at her and he froze too, looking surprised. Joey thought it was the first time he'd seen the CEO speechless.

Things went on like that for a good twelve seconds before she finally unfroze. She straightened up her skirt and stood up tall, blushing a little as she stuttered out an apology. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Kaiba.” She said, smiling. Kaiba continued to remain frozen for a couple more seconds before he finally got the wits to respond.

“Nice to see you again too, Kisara. Thank you.” He said pleasantly, for once. I repeat, Seto Kaiba was being _pleasant._ This would go down in the record books.

There was another moment of (slightly) less awkward silence, before Kisara broke out in a fit of nervous giggles. “Thanks again, but I really have to get back to work.” She told him, nodding her head. Seto cleared his throat and leaned back, shaking his head in agreement. She then practically skipped away, her hands swinging back and forth beside her body as she went to fulfill her next task. Seto watched her leave, frowning as she went.

The entire table sat in stunned silence, none of the iced cream touched.

“You knew her?” Mokuba finally asked. Seto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, nodding his head. He reached out and picked up his iced cream cone, taking a soft lick. He avoided making eye contact with anyone, acting like he was entirely absorbed in the dairy product. After finally realizing that they wouldn't relent until they had the story, he set down his iced cream with a sigh, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. No, he was _not_ pouting, CEOs of major companies didn't pout.

“Well, I helped her once.” He started.

_Seto walked outside of his building, the rotating doors swirling around behind him, the motion slowing as he distanced himself. The air was cold and humid at the same time, a combination that made for genuinely awful weather. Rain pelted down in soft droplets, scattering across the hood of his limo and landing in his hair like it was meant to. He scowled at the weather, happy that he would at least be out of it in a couple more steps._

_Motion, at the corner of his eyes. He didn't turn, but his eyes moved, looking to his left. There, blurred by the constant downpour, stood a young woman._

_Even through the rain, he could see her stunning white hair, the colour slightly darker than usual thanks to the layer of water that had soaked in. Her clothes clung to her body, and he could see her shivering from the cold. The rain continued to pelt down, the few other people crazy enough to be out in this weather having brought umbrellas. He had no clue why he felt the urge to help her, but there was something about her that seemed magnetic, maybe a little familiar._

_He climbed into the limo, shaking the wet hair from his eyes. As soon as he shut the door, he felt an itch under his skin. He bounced his leg in attempt to stave it off, but it was a useless effort. It felt like he'd left something unfinished, something that wasn't quite done yet. It was building up in him, the feeling that he shouldn't be in the car when she was on the street._

_The window rolled down, and the driver looked in the back mirror. “To home, I'm assuming?” He questioned._

_Seto knew he couldn't do it. He almost growled; who was this girl to have such a pull on him, Seto Kaiba. He reached under the seat, feeling around. The driver's eyebrows scrunched in confusion when there was no answer, seeing Seto disappear from sight for a moment before coming back up, a folded umbrella held in his hands. He kicked the door open. “No, not quite. I'll be right back.”_

_He climbed out into the freezing cold, opening the umbrella again as he walked up to the girl, mercifully still standing on the street corner. He approached her cautiously, knowing that he would come across as odd, or even friendly if he seemed too enthusiastic._

_She didn't even see him approach as he walked up, her head ducked down to try and preserve heat. She froze up entirely as she felt the rain stop, looking up in surprise. Her eyes met with Seto's, and there was a long pause where nothing was said. She felt her mouth go dry as she analyzed him, and he couldn't bring himself to be the first to speak._

_“Thank you.” She said, finally. The walk light turned green, but she was still, not wanting to move from the shelter that the umbrella offered._

_Finally, Seto found his voice. “That limo over there is mine.” He said, gesturing back towards it. “If you need a ride home, you could come with me.” He offered. She nodded her head in understanding, but didn't make a move, letting her shaking (which had returned when the surprise left) subside before she did. When it was down to the minimal quiver, she shook her head no._

_“I shouldn't accept rides from strangers. Even ones who are so kind.” She said. Seto gave a deep sigh, knowing that he wouldn't be able to allow himself to let her walk home alone in this weather. He nodded his head in agreement, but ,made no move to leave. She looked up at him curiously as they stood there, slightly awkward and wet._

_“Well, then, I guess I'll just have to accompany you home.” He said, straightening up. Her eyes scanned his form again curiously, as if looking for malicious intent in his offer. Finding none, she turned back towards the light, which had flashed green again. She started walking and he walked beside her, across the street._

_The first block was silent. The second block the same. The silence felt oddly comfortable for them, like they were both used to it. Seto thanked Ra that she hadn't tried to strike up a conversation, because he had proved himself incapable of casual talk several times, and the last thing he needed on this weirdly compulsive streak of kindness was more proof of how socially awkward big business had made him in non-formal situations._

_Three blocks later, they stopped in front of a large apartment complex. She turned towards him, her eyes scanning his again, looking for answers. Unfortunately, he had none to give._

_“What's your name?” She questioned, her eyes shining with curiosity._

_“Seto Kaiba.” He said, without thinking. Recognition flashed in her eyes, but she didn't mention the company. Kaiba was oddly relieved; she was one of the few who had the decency to leave it out of the conversation._

_“Kisara.” She said, offering her hand to shake. Seto switched the umbrella to his nondominant hand and put his hand in hers, and gave a short shake. She nodded her head along with the movement. “Thank you. I hope to see you again, Seto Kaiba.”_

_Kaiba just gave his own head nod, not knowing how to respond. That didn't really need a response anyway. It was probably more of a rhetorical statement._

_She turned, walking through the door. He could see her go up the stairs through the glass, and he stayed firmly rooted to the spot. She disappeared from his sight._

“So, that was what happened. I just held an umbrella for her while it was raining outside.” He mumbled, finishing his story. He'd left out most of it, like feeling the insatiable urge to go back out once he was in the limo, and how she had seemed oddly familiar. The bare minimum was all that they needed to hear from the story, so that's all that he told.

“ _You_ did something _nice?_ ” Joey asked, his mouth dropping open in shock. Mai elbowed him in the ribs, rolling her eyes at his juvenile behaviour. “I mean, uh... Good job?” Joey tried again. Mai was tempted to give him a second dose of her elbow, but found that it didn't feel much worth it. At least he tried this time.

As they left, Joey paused. Mai tugged his hand towards the door, but he held still. She looked at him cynically, not understanding his urge to wait. He held up a finger, and she let go of his hand. “I'll be right out.” He promised. Mai shrugged and continued out the door, seeing no point in trying to make sense of her boyfriend's actions. Boys were stupid sometimes, and Joey was no exception to that.

Joey knew that Seto had felt something about Kisara. He wasn't stupid; there was the same sparkle in his eye as he knew was in his own when he talked about Mai. So, he approached the counter, leaning over it until she noticed him.

When she finally saw that he was there, she dropped what she was doing and came right over, a smile on her face. “What can I get for you?” She asked enthusiastically, smiling at him.

“Well, you see,” He thought up a good lie as soon as he could. “My friend, Seto, the one that you knew,” She nodded her head, so he kept going, “He's a little shy, so he couldn't get up the nerve to ask himself,” If he wasn't mistaken, that was hope gleaming in her eyes, “So, he wants to know if he can have your phone number. Sorry he's a bit of a chicken to do it himself.” He apologized, laughing a little. She lit up, immediately reaching over and grabbing a napkin and the pen from her pocket.

“Here you go. Tell him I said that he shouldn't be shy, too.” She said, handing Joey the information. He took it happily, nodding his head and smiling broadly as he did. Yeah, he was meddling, but it felt kinda good to meddle.

He ran outside, waving goodbye to her, and handed the napkin to Seto.

“What's this?” Seto asked, looking at the numbers as if they were a foreign language.

“Well, it's your birth certificate.” Joey said sarcastically, putting his arms on his hips. Mai smiled from beside him, just then piecing together what her boyfriend had done. She couldn't say that she didn't approve. “You were acting like a chicken, so I told that girl you wanted her number. Now you have it.”

“Why the hell would you care?” Kaiba asked, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't risk glancing back inside towards Kisara, who gave him a small wink. He turned back to Joey, his cheeks tinted pink.

“I figured that if you got some romance in ya life you'd stop being such a douche.” Joey said simply, unable to admit that he cared at all. Nope, not caring. Not even the tiniest bit. Seto could go die in a hole for all he cared, except he didn't care, nope, not at all. Not caring. He did that for entirely his own personal gain, figuring that if Seto had a girlfriend to take up his time, he would get more time with Mokuba. Nope, he was entirely not caring about Seto.

Silence followed.

Yami and Yuugi sat together outside of surgery, Yami leading Yuugi's hand to the proper places on the paper to sign. He sloppily wrote his name over and over, making sure the hospital had proof that he knew it was an experimental surgery, he wouldn't sue if it wasn't their fault, he wouldn't get angry at the doctors if it didn't work, etc. It was all very tedious work, and all of the assurance was making Yami more than nervous.

He just wanted this to be over with, just wanted to know that Yuugi would be okay.

Finally, the last line was signed, and they sat there in utter silence. Yuugi was twiddling his thumbs, probably remembering his birthday party a couple of days ago. Yami didn't have much money to get him anything, (Yami paid for most of their dates) but he managed to scrape together enough for an audio tape of the first Harry Potter book, which Yuugi had fallen asleep to listening to last night. It would be something to listen to while his eyes healed, something to keep his mind off of the pain of his eyes adjusting.

It wouldn't be much, Yami knew, but it would help him to pass the time.

The clock ticked by painfully slow, the minutes seeming to stretch into hours. Yami squeezed Yuugi's hand, as much for his own reassurance as for his partner's. He wanted to be as supportive as possible, but was finding it hard through all of his own worry.

“Yuugi Mutou?” The doctor called, his clip board sitting snugly against his chest. Yuugi stood, and Yami stood with him, walking a couple of steps towards the door. They came to a halt outside of the hallway. The doctor turned and waved them forward, and both of them took a couple of steps.

He raised his hands, looking at Yami. “Only he's allowed past this point.” The doctor said, gesturing towards Yuugi. Yami felt anxiety rise up in him at the idea of leaving Yuugi alone, but he forced it down, for Yuugi's sake. He didn't need to give Yuugi another reason to worry, and pissing off the doctor preforming the surgery would probably fall under that category.

“I love you.” Yami said, leaning down to press a lingering kiss on Yuugi's lips. Yuugi blushed a bit, knowing that there were probably more people than necessary having seen the kiss, but he didn't complain. He knew exactly how Yami felt; he was nervous, too. It would take all of his strength to get through this on his own, and a small dose of affection beforehand could never hurt.

“I love you too.” Yuugi mumbled, stepping away. Yami felt a pain in his chest as he watched Yuugi walk away, but he knew that this was something that Yuugi had to face on his own.

He just hoped everything would be okay when he came out the other side.

 


	11. Results and New Old Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this has been a really emotional ride for me, guys. I know that you all really enjoyed this story, especially since it's my most popular one so far, and that's a huge honor to an author as young as I am. Thank you so much for your reviews, comments, etc. and from the bottom of my heart, I really love you all.
> 
> Thank you for reading this and taking this journey with me. I look forward to seeing some of you read some of my other works and getting to know all of you more through your reviews and interactions with my newer work. You've all been really great.
> 
> But, for now, the final chapter.

* * *

 

Chapter 10:

Results and New Old Faces

Yuugi got out of surgery four whole hours later, and there were bandages wrapped around his eyes. The doctor's face looked grim as Yami approached the room where he was being held.

"I'm sorry." He said. Yami's stomach sank as his mind swirled around a million possibilities. "We won't know for sure whether it worked for at least another two weeks, maybe more. His eyes didn't take to the surgery quite as planned. We'll have to hope it went as well as expected." He said.

Yami wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, a little hope was better than none, which had been what they were looking at before. On the other, they didn't know, which would make the next couple of weeks hell on Yuugi. Especially since the doctor had explained beforehand that the surgery would be very painful for his eyes, even if it ended up failing. He didn't know how Yuugi would take the news.

He was allowed into Yuugi's bedroom, and he stood faithfully by Yuugi's side, the other's hand held in his own. He watched the monitor blink up and down, watching Yuugi's heartbeat as he slept away the anaesthesia.

Yuugi didn't wake until the next morning.

Yami had immediately ran to his side, wrapping his arms around the younger one. Yuugi had sleepily pushed him off, not registering who it was. He didn't look entirely there; the drugs had more of an effect on him than they usually had, so he was still a little under. He "looked" around and then tilted his head to the side, asking why everything was dark. Yami wasn't sure how to respond, so he didn't, and Yuugi fell back asleep moments later.

Four hours after that, (he'd woken up a few times, said some random things, and then went back to sleep) he finally came around, and immediately started yelling for Yami. Yami ran over to him and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I'm here." He said, his hands firmly holding Yuugi's. Yuugi nodded his head in acknowledgement, giving out a sigh of relief. As soon as he relaxed, though, he flinched. Yami frowned at the action, raising one of his hands to gently cup Yuugi's face. He ran his thumb along the warm skin, wondering what could make Yuugi flinch like that, and trying to offer comfort.

"Can you call the nurse?" Yuugi asked. He'd leaned into Yami's hand, but he didn't look much better. His features were slightly pulled up in displeasure, his nose wrinkling. "I think my pain medicine might be overdue."

After the nurse gave him another shot of the pain killers, Yuugi went back to sleep. He looked like death warmed over, all pale and sick, and Yami wished that there was something he could do for Yuugi. Unfortunately, he could barely stay awake long enough to eat, let alone for Yami to help him feel better. Whenever he did resist the urge to take more pain killers, he ended up in so much pain he would cry, which would hurt him worse. Yami would always cave and call the nurse before Yuugi even asked at these times, too reluctant to see Yuugi in pain.

Once a week had passed, the doctor ordered that he be weaned off pain killers.

It had started slowly, a couple less milligrams, a little further apart until the nurses were allowed to give him more. The two hardly even noticed, stuck in a cycle that would never seem to end of sleep and wake and worry worry worry. Once they did start to notice, Yuugi was in pain. By three days into the weaning, Yuugi was crying periodically, no matter how hard he tried to stop it.

He'd tried to tell Yami that it wasn't that bad, that he'd had worse, but Yami could see through it. He tried to tell him that he was only crying because of where the damage was, but Yami was too smart to believe it. He didn't argue with Yuugi, though, because he knew that Yuugi was much stronger than even he would have been. The mark of a man is not his ability not to cry, but rather his ability to keep going through the tears.

Keep going, Yuugi did. After the fourth day of tears and pain and hurt, it started to get better. Little bit at first, but then all at once. Yuugi would smile and talk to Yami again, bandages still secure around his eyes, and he even asked Mai and Joey to come and visit him once. Things weren't great, but all around, they weren't bad, either.

After the third day with no pain, the doctor finally gave the order that the bandages could be removed.

The air was thick with anticipation; Yuugi was sitting up in his bed, licking his dry lips. He reached for his water, feeling along the table until his hand closed around it. Yami sat in the chair nearby, exhausted from so many days of standing by the bed and sleeping in the chair. Yuugi picked up the bottle and brought it to his lips, his hands shaking as he took a big drink.

Finally, he set it back down, turning to Yami.

"I'm nervous." He said pointedly. Yami shook his head before remembering that Yuugi needed a verbal response, and making what he hoped was a sound of acknowledgement. Yuugi leaned back with a big, huffy sigh and squirmed around in his bed, talking to himself. Yami wasn't supposed to hear what he was saying, so he didn't try to read Yuugi's lips. He already knew that Yuugi was giving himself a pep talk anyway, and Yuugi would need one. Time to figure out if all the pain was worth it; Yami himself was incredibly nervous for Yuugi. He wanted this so badly.

Yuugi sat up again, turning over to Yami. "I want you to take off the bandages." He said. Yami did a double take, eyes widening in surprise. Yuugi wanted him to do the honours? He was flattered.

He stood up, nervous, but a strange calm making him able to move towards Yuugi. He knew that delaying wouldn't change anything, so he couldn't really count on it to lessen the significance of what was about to take place. He would have to suck up his nerves and just get it over with, because the longer he waited, the longer he went without knowing. The longer Yuugi would go without seeing.

"Are you sure?" He asked, standing in front of Yuugi. Yuugi nodded his head and pursed his lips as if waiting was unpleasant, and he leaned forward so that Yami could access his bandages. Yami tentatively moved his arms, going around the back and finding purchase in the bindings. Once he found the little bump, he scooted his fingers under and began to pull, the soft fabric coming away with every soft tug.

It seemed like forever until Yuugi was fully unwrapped, and Yami's hands were shaking by the end of it. It was odd to feel this mixture of calm yet so anxious; unlike anything he'd experienced before. Yuugi's eyes were still closed once he was done, flickering behind his eyelids, and Yuugi hissed against the light he'd been without for so long.

It felt like forever his eyes stayed closed, adjusting to the atmosphere. Yami held his breath, though he assumed the flickering was a good sign. He was reacting to something.

His eyes finally snapped open, looking right at Yami. Yami looked down at the violet orbs, the galaxy staring back up at him, and he felt his heart sink when he saw that the pupils were still blurred and pulled outwards, creating the same spilling effect as before. It was hauntingly beautiful, mesmerizing, and it looked broken. After all of this, Yuugi's eyes still seemed broken. But... why was Yuugi smiling so wide, leaning forward to pull Yami into a bruising kiss, laughing against Yami's lips?

Yuugi finally pulled away and Yami stood panting, looking back down at the broken orbs. Yuugi was crying and smiling, and suddenly, Yami realized something.

No matter how broken and beautiful they may look, Yuugi's eyes could see again.

Days passed with Yuugi getting rehabilitated, getting used to his new found eyesight. Everyone was happy for both of them, and the mood seemed to only rise as time went on. There was a certain air of simplicity to it all- everyone being together in this place, living as friends and brothers, and honestly, one big family.

Three days after his eyesight was back, the doctor came back to check up on how much Yuugi was seeing. Yuugi had plopped himself down on the bed and smiled broadly, shrugging.

"What do you mean by that? I'm seeing everything just fine. It's a little blurry if I hold really small print too close, but honestly, it's always been like that." He said, teasing a little. Yami chuckled from his corner of the room, a book actually clutched in his own hands. Yuugi had been reading everything he could get his hands on- a lot of fanfiction on the hospital's laptops and a lot of books from the library, no matter how dry others would have found them. He was so relieved at just having the ability to read again that Yami suspected he would  _never_  take it for granted.

"I mean, colours. How much of the spectrum can you see?" The doctor questioned, smiling a bit at Yuugi's assessment of himself. Yuugi blinked, pausing in thought.

"To be blatantly honest, I can only see reds and oranges, and some pinks if they're dark enough. So mainly warm colours. Everything else is in black and white for me." He admitted. The doctor shook his head, and Yami's eyebrows furrowed together. Yuugi couldn't see all of the colours? Why hadn't he mentioned that before?

"Okay, so the surgery was partially corrective." The doctor said, scribbling something down. His pen retracted with a small click and he smiled at his patient, tucking it into the clip board. "Thank you for your participation, Mr. Mutou. You helped a lot of kids in a similar position as you." He announced. Yuugi just smiled, his orbed eyes flickering across the doctor's face, and seeing only sincerity. He really had helped to revolutionize eye surgery.

The doctor left, and silence resonated between the walls. Yami gathered his words carefully, not wanting to come across the wrong way.

"Why didn't you tell me you only see some of the colours?" He asked. Yuugi turned, his brows furrowed in question at Yami's curiosity.

"Well, I didn't think it was that important." Yuugi mumbled, looking down momentarily. He looked back up, and there was a reminiscent smile on his face. "You know, actually, I was a little disappointed at first, too. Because I looked around, and there was only varying shades of grey, broken up by some orange flowers in a vase behind the bed. Then, I finally looked up at your eyes, and they were burning red with a kind of intensity I never knew you could have. I fell in love with the colour immediately, and suddenly, it didn't seem so bad any more." Yuugi admitted sheepishly. His face had the lightest blush on it at this point, a lovely kind of rose petal pink Yami wanted to never forget.

"You have the brightest way of looking at things, aibou. You never cease to amaze me." He said, giving a small chuckle. Yuugi smiled again, and the blush faded.

"Well, we can't focus on the bad in life. That's like giving up on the good."

More time passed than either thought possible at first, with patients and people and tons of busy work and happy teasing. The group of Seto, Joey, Mokuba, Yuugi, Mai and Yami hung out together more than any of them could have predicted. Every once in awhile, they would get to laughing and joking, or fighting (mainly Seto and Joey on that hand) and Yami would have the sudden realization that he felt like he was in a family. For the first time since Anna had died, he felt like he was at home. These people  _were_  his home.

One such time brought a new member of the family in, someone whom Yami had assumed gone forever.

They were sitting around a table, all of them joking around, laughing, having a good time. Kaiba was pretending to be unamused and acting like the company he was keeping was below him, but every once in awhile his lip would quirk up the slightest bit at a comment or he'd close his eyes and give a contented sigh that showed he truly liked the small group. Yami had learned to adjust to his presence and Joey and him still fought constantly, broken up by Joey drilling Seto about his latest date with Kisara. Seto gave as little detailing as possible.

"So, can you see this shade?" Joey had questioned Yuugi, holing up his pale orange ID badge. They had just learned of his colour impairment, and Joey had taken the liberty of being generally obnoxious and asking Yuugi if he could see anything and everything's colours. Yuugi had been a good sport and put up with it for the most part.

"A little." Yuugi said, squinting at it. "It's pretty faint, though." He admitted. Finally, Joey felt like he had asked enough questions, because he leaned back and thought for a moment.

"You have no manners." Seto mumbled from his side of the table. Joey ignored him.

"So, you're like a dog." Joey stated. Yuugi's eyes widened in confusion. "Because dogs only see reds." Joey explained. "Or maybe that was bulls." He thought out loud, and then gave a shrug.

"You're the one who's a furry, mutt." Seto put in from across the table. Joey's face became beet red and he sank down in his seat, his mouth forming silent arguments against the statement as he went. He eventually just stopped, his chin resting on the table.

"Why did you have to tell him that story?" Joey asked Yuugi.

Yuugi had given Kaiba a story of a time when they were at the private school and Joey had lost a bet, which forced him to wear a dog costume around school. Joey had been horrified at having to let the school hotshot, Duke Devlin, lead him around with a leash all day. The story had only been made better by Mai's insertion of her own thoughts on Joey's dog status, telling about how he could actually hear a dog whistle. Ever since then, Joey had been dubbed the furry of the group.

"Sorry, Joey." Yuugi apologized, smiling. (Just so you know; He wasn't really all that sorry).

Suddenly, a voice interrupted from behind, "Oh my gosh, furries are just so adorable! I would totally be a neko if I could be! I wonder if they have a surgery for that...?"

Yami froze in disbelief, but he saw the widening of Joey's eyes. Mai had this knowing smirk on her face, and Mokuba looked ready to explode. Finally, Yami could no longer resist the pull from behind him, and he turned his entire body to face her. "Mana."

Mana had been in the cancer unit with Joey, actually staying four months after him and forging a relationship with Mokuba. While she had been there with them, they had been best friends. She had brought energy and life into the group in Joey's last couple of months, when he was feeling the weakest. Of course, nobody would ever expect her to have had cancer. Her personality was bubbly and upbeat and her hair had grown down to a little ways down her back, accenting her beauty. Yami smiled at her.

They had played hide and seek in the pots, annoying the hospital staff to death. They had gotten many-a lectures on how they were behaving as children or how their parents would not have been proud. Yami knew it was foolish of them to spoil the fun, but he was respectfully quiet.

"In the flesh!" She enthused, clapping her hands together and smiling enthusiastically.

There was a rush of motion as the four that knew her ran to wrap her in a group hug, Mai reaching her first and wrapping her arms around the girl. Joey wrapped his arms around Mai and partially around Mana, and Yami did the same from the other side. They formed an awkward group hug circle, the girls giggling with each other in the middle and the boys awkwardly attempting to keep the group together. There was a certain air of nostalgia around the group as they remembered their time together, Mana's scent and overwhelming presence bringing back the past.

"Hey, don't kill her. Where would I be without my girlfriend?" Tea asked from behind the group.

They all turned and smiled warmly at her.

Tea had been there for Mana through all of her chemo, never failing to show up afterwards within the hour to keep Mana sane and help her deal with the energy drain. As they made it through the treatments and the stay together, they slowly became more and more intimate with each other. Right before Joey left, Mana had announced that her and Tea had come to the agreement that they were more than friends, and they had started their relationship.

Yami was happy to see that they were still together.

The group hug slowly disbanded, awkwardly letting go of each other and allowing Tea access to her girlfriend. Tea ran over and looped her arm around Mana's. The girls shared a look of silent communication, one that showed just how close they were, and Tea broke out into a smile.

"Does anyone want to play hide and go seek?" Tea said mischievously. Mana enthusiastically raised her hand, and Mai rolled her eyes at the two girls.

"Well, I'm on break anyway. Otherwise, I would not be partaking in your children's games." Mai said, trying to act more mature than she was. Joey just immediately raised his own hand, declaring his preference of the game to sitting around talking. Mokuba had nodded his head and agreed, and Yuugi had smiled and said that he was game. Everyone turned to Seto expectantly, expecting to be turned down.

As expected, what came out of his mouth was, "You can waste your time playing foolish games all you want, I'll stay here and play chess on my phone."

The entire group glared at him with equal levels of hatred and disdain. Kaiba needed to let loose, and the entire group was determined to make it happen. Most determined, though, was young Mokuba, who declared, "Kaiba, please! I'm so sick!" and then began to cough for emphasis.

Kaiba glared at his little brother, crossing his arms over his chest and looking uptight. He narrowed his eyes at the youngest of them, clearly not buying it. "You look fine now."

"Come on, Seto! You  _have_  to play, or else it won't be any fun for me! Don't you want me to have fun? You've barely gotten to see me in the hospital! I'm not even technically all better yet, and you won't even play hide and seek! What sort of a big brother-"

"ALRIGHT, I'll play hide and seek with you!" Seto shouted, huffing. Mokuba cut off his whining, sitting up a little taller in his chair as the group huddled around the table secretively, not wanting the rest of the staff to overhear their plans of mayhem.

"Okay everyone, since we have some new players," Mana said, glancing at Yuugi and Seto, "I'm going to have to explain the rules. Break is twenty minutes, so you'll have five to find somewhere to hide. Since we're not kids, you can keep moving if you'd like to, just understand it increases your risk of being heard. If you get caught by Tea or I," She said, gesturing between herself and her lover, "Or if any member of the staff asks what your doing or tells you to stop, you have to come back to here. Then you're officially neutral. Now, in the last five minutes of the game you can join in with the seekers and look for the others. If time runs out and we haven't found everybody, the hiders win. If we find everyone before then, the seekers win. No locking doors, no leaving the building. Parking garage is also off limits." She finished.

"Did everybody get that?" Asked Tea, looking specifically at the new players. There were a few quiet sounds of agreement, and Mana nodded. She looked up at the clock, her brown hair bouncing as her eyes narrowed at the time. Technically the hiders had the advantage, since a couple of minutes of break were taken up explaining the rules.

"Okay, I'm going to drag Tea over to that pole. As soon as we get there, you all run." Mana announced, grabbing Tea's arm. Tea willingly went, teasingly blowing kisses at the small group as she was pulled to the pole. Mana stopped. They turned and buried their faces in the structure.

Suddenly, the group was a mess of motion and action as people broke off and ran down the hallways, their legs working furiously as they propelled themselves towards their desired hiding places. They were lean and focussed, eyes scanning every nook and cranny to find a good place to hole up for the game. They were a well-oiled machine, with only one task in mind; Don't get found.

Well, except for Kaiba. He casually walked to the elevator and selected a new floor. He didn't really care what happened, just as long as he didn't look like an idiot in public.

Yami grabbed Yuugi's hand, pulling him along behind them. Yuugi barely managed to keep up, but he didn't want to ask Yami to slow down. He thought he was just a little bit attracted to this side of Yami; predatory, in the zone, focused on succeeding in the game. He was certainly happy Yami wasn't on the opposing team. He was certain that would not end well.

Yami led them further and further away from anyone, to the smallest waiting room, on the highest floor. There were a couple of children playing blocks, their small hands reaching for the pieces of colourful wood, and Yami stopped to look at them. He looked thoughtful for a moment, as though contemplating what they could possibly be thinking. Yuugi watched his lover's face with a keen interest, happy to see the look of concentration. Well, happy to see anything, really.

"Mana won't find us, because Tea doesn't like young children. They always work together, so I doubt they'd venture here." He announced proudly, standing up a little straighter. Yuugi smiled, letting it touch his eyes, as he always did with Yami.

Honestly, Yuugi could say that he'd never been happier at any point in his life. He felt guilty about it sometimes, because he should miss his parents more than he did, but it wasn't really something that he would let bother him any more. Yami had helped show him, no, this entire experience had helped to show him that you could either be a victim of circumstance or allow yourself to grow from it. He thought that he'd done a fairly good job at letting himself grow.

All in all, Yuugi hadn't gotten dealt the worst hand, anyway. He'd had hardships, sure. Focusing on that, though, would mean discrediting all the good that had come into his life. Sure he went blind. Yes, he lost two people he could have potentially grown close to. But he'd gained his eyesight back, and in losing his parents, he'd gained a whole new family. One that would listen, one that was attentive, a family that might have actually cared about him. He liked that.

"Just in case, though, we'll sit by the closet." Yami said thoughtfully, dragging Yuugi over. Yuugi took a seat in one of the (slightly uncomfortable) waiting room chairs, and looked around, his eyes tracing the patten of the wallpaper absent mindedly.

Yami reached over and laced their fingers together, smiling at Yuugi. Yuugi smiled back as his eyes tore from the decorations and settled on his lover's. They shared a look of silent communication, a look that not even a thousand "I love you"s could match.

Suddenly, Yuugi's eyes drifted from Yami's as he felt a hand on his leg.

He turned, eyes widening in surprise as he expected it to be Mana, having caught them. Instead of the mischievous girl, his eyes settled on a petite blonde who had freckles. She looked to be about six, and her parents sat in the seats across from them. Her hand was insistent on his leg, and he saw Yami turn towards her from the corner of his eyes.

"Hello. What seems to be the problem?" Yuugi asked, smiling at her. The little girl glanced back towards her parents, to make sure that they weren't paying attention. They weren't.

"How do your eyes see like that?" She asked, loud enough for some of the other children to turn and take interest. Yuugi felt his face turn red, and her parent's heads snapped up, as if just realizing they should have been watching her. The mother ran over and grabbed the little girl's arm, trying to pull her backwards.

"I am  _so_  sorry!" She apologized, and then turned to the little girl, "You should have better manners, young lady."

"No, no!" Yuugi said, maybe just a little too loud. He'd just unfrozen from the shock, and he knew that he probably would have wondered the same thing at her age. He wouldn't blame children for being curious; curiosity was the nature of someone that young. Who was he to squash that?

Yuugi leaned forward and took the little girl's hands, bending down to look her in the eyes. Her mother still had a hand on her shoulder, but she made no move to pull her daughter away again. "My eyes are like this because they were broken. They were broken  _really_  bad. The worst eyes can be broken." He explained. He took a deep breath at this point before continuing, "But, the doctors here did something that helped to fix them. The doctors let me see again, so now my eyes aren't so broken." He explained. The little girl looked like she was thinking for a moment.

"So now your eyes just  _look_  broken?" She asked. Yuugi smiled and nodded his head, and she smiled back at him. "They're very pretty, mister!"

Yami chuckled from beside Yuugi. "I think so, too."

Suddenly, a pair of giggling voices seemed to come from down the hallway. Yuugi tugged Yami's arm, gesturing in the direction they were coming from. Yami, luckily, got the hint, and he abruptly stood. His eyes went to the closet, and he turned, opening the door without a problem. Luckily, this closet was only cleaning supplies, and wasn't locked up like it would be if it had anything medical in it.

At the last minute, Yuugi poked his head out, looking at the girl. "If anyone asks if we came, tell them you don't know what they're talking about." He whispered dramatically. The little girl nodded her head, her eyes as wide as saucer plates.

The closet door was shut, and suddenly, the space seemed to shrink. Yuugi felt his body bumping against shelves and Yami's, and he prayed that the noises weren't as loud as they sounded from in here. Yami put a hand on his shoulder and he turned, their chests pressing up together in the small area. His eyes strained in the dark before finding the eyes of his partner, and he gave a small smile.

Time seemed to slow down. The lighting was dim, there was barely enough room to breath, and the space between them seemed to get smaller and smaller as time went along. Suddenly, with no recollection as to how it happened, they were kissing.

Mouths gently touched in the dark, hands were pressed against ribs, lips soft and moist as they pressed against other lips in the dark. It felt like an eternity before Yuugi pulled away, gasping for air, and he heard Yami's chuckle from above him. He leaned forward and pressed his head against Yami's chest, just listening to the other's steady heart beat and treasuring that he could. Yami meant more than anything to him now.

He was the person that Yuugi felt the closest to.

Suddenly, the door opened and Yami flinched as their hiding spot was covered in light. He gave a groan as he squinted, seeing Mana on the other side. She enthusiastically reached forward and grabbed onto Yami's arm with a squeal, pulling him out of the closet and into a hug.

"We found you~!" She declared, jumping up and down in excitement. Yami rolled his eyes and gave a deep sigh, putting his head in his hands. Yuugi chose this time to unlatch himself from Yami's arms, blushing bright red at Tea's raise of an eyebrow.

"Looks to me like we were interrupting something." Tea said, smirking at the two of them. Yuugi froze, a look of embarrassment evident on his features. Yami simply smirked; he was getting much more comfortable with showing Yuugi affection in public, and Yuugi's embarrassment was just too cute to pass up. So, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Yuugi again, pulling him close.

"Yes, you were. Now, if you'd be so kind as to shut the door again..." He trailed off. At this point, Yuugi unfroze, shoving Yami off of him.

"Come on guys, I didn't sign up for a hero's battle!*" He yelled, his lip quirking up the slightest bit. Yami let out a light laugh, shaking his head. "Besides, we have to go back to the starting point now and help out the seekers in a couple of minutes."

Yami stepped out of the closet, and soon, he found himself being pulled along by Yuugi. He waved goodbye to Mana and Tea, smiling like an idiot as Yuugi's warmth radiated into him. They turn and ran to the waiting room together, only stopping once they got in the elevator. If they waited any longer than necessary to get to the starting point and the last five minutes started without them, they would be cheating. Besides, they wanted to help now. They were technically on the Seeker's side, now.

They arrived soon enough, Yami and Yuugi both struggling to catch their breath. Yuugi glanced at the clock and saw that they still had thirty seconds left to go, so he slumped himself into a chair to attempt and recover his breathing. Yami did the same, his own tired body falling ungracefully onto the couch beside Yuugi. He lifted his head and looked at who had been caught so far, seeing that Yuugi was already doing the same.

Sitting in the room around them were two other people; Mai, and Joey. Seto and Mokuba were both still nowhere to be found. Mai gave both of them a slight smile as Joey waved at them.

"You two made the mistake of hiding together, too?" Mai asked. Yuugi blushed and nodded his head; he hadn't thought to mention to Yami that it was a strategically foolish idea. Really, he should have thought that one through better. Of course, what had already come to pass was already in the past, and the clock had just ticked down to the last five minutes.

All of them sprang up, mischief shining in their eyes as they began to head off in separate directions, checking all of the corners that they could. Time slowly melted away as they searched, and they were all feeling the pressure as the one minute mark was hit. If they didn't find Mokuba soon, they were going to lose. Six of them, losing to a  _fourteen year old._  (Joey fully intended to blame it on his height advantage; he could fit in more places.)

Finally, the last thirty seconds was called. Yami jumped as his phone went off in his pocket, and he tilted his head curiously. Hardly anybody ever texted him... who could it be?

 _'Found Mokuba. Meet back at starting point. In case you've lost my contact, this is your friendly neighbourhood Mana speaking :-P'_ Yami blinked down at his phone for a couple of minutes before he shook his head, chuckling. Yuugi curiously nudged him, so he showed him the text. After a quick smile, they headed back towards where the text had directed.

When they arrived, they were met with choruses of playful banter and laughter, along with Mana declaring that they won. Mokuba simply smirked, shaking his head at the rest of them.

"You really do seem sure of that." He said, shaking his head. Joey rolled his eyes and Mana giggled, sticking out her tongue. Apparently, Mokuba had something against losing.

"You should really learn when to accept defeat." Joey said, reaching out and grabbing Mokuba, wrapping an arm around him for a headlock. Mokuba's eyes went wide as he struggled to try and get out of it, hands pushing at Joey's arms uselessly. Finally, after a couple of minutes of trying, he gave up, slumping in Joey's hold. He lazily blew a strand of bangs from his eyes, waiting for Joey to finish his fun. Joey released him, and Mokuba breathed a sigh of relief.

Yami could tell that something was off, though. There was no defeat in Mokuba's eyes, but rather a glimmer of mischief and patience. In that moment, he looked more like his big brother than he ever had bef-

WAIT! That was it! In all their efforts to find Mokuba, they had forgotten about Seto!

"He's right! We didn't win." Yami announced. All the other members of the group turned to him, confusion written all over their faces. However, they weren't confused for long. The elevator doors behind him opened, revealing the tall, brown-haired CEO strolling from the building. He had a smirk on his face and triumph in his eyes as he walked, and Mokuba ran to his side, jumping up and down in excitement.

"What?! Where the hell were you hidin?" Joey spat. Kaiba shrugged.

"In plain sight. You yourself passed me twice." He informed him. Joey sagged in defeat, and you could practically see the haze of disappointment taking over his features. "I simply walked into the cafeteria, got a coffee, and sat down. I worked on my emails, checked the stocks, and you walked right past me. Unobservant mutt."

"I-well-I-" Joey stuttered out, his face going red with shame. He finally gave up on speaking and crossed his arms over his chest, sufficiently pouting.

"Good job, big brother!" Came from Mokuba's mouth. Seto nodded his head.

"Congratulations. I hope we can have a rematch eventually." Yuugi said good-naturedly. The rest of the seekers slowly put in their agreements, all except for Joey, who remained brooding. Mana looked down and nodded her head, as if in thought, before she looked back up.

"You know, soon we'll have to plan stuff like this. I mean, Yami is moving out soon enough, probably taking his boyfriend with him, and Mokuba will be out of the hospital before we know it!"  
She declared. Suddenly, the entire group paused, as if making this realization all at once. Yami could practically  _hear_  his friends all frowning, and it made him realize just how close they were to the time when he would go his own way, and leave the home he had known since he was a child.

The taste of the knowledge was bitter-sweet. Looking around at all of his friends, he knew it would hurt more than anything to leave them all behind. Deep in his heart, though, he knew that this was something that had to be done. He had to branch out on his own and become his own person, or else he'd never make his own way in the world. It wasn't going to be fun, but he knew that he'd have his friends to support him. Even if he moved halfway across the world, they would stay in touch. They would be there for him no matter what, and that knowledge was more important than his most valued possession. As Bobby Singer once said, "family is more than blood".

This was his family he was leaving behind.

"Promise me something, guys." He said, overcome by a fit of sudden affection. All eyes turned towards him. "No matter where we are, we'll always make time for each other. I never want to lose any of you, ever again. You've helped me come so far and you've been there for me through it all. Let's make a pack to always find our way back to each other. Okay?" He asked.

Mana's hand was slung into the air in front of her, and it was clear that this was supposed to be a sign of companionship. One by one, the hands joined, even Seto's. They sat there for a moment after they were all taking part, making eye contact. Silently agreeing to never fully leave each other.

Yami felt the side of his lip quirk up in a warm smile.

He might not know who his real family was, but this was certainly close enough.

Later that day, Yami was staring at his computer screen in shock.

The words, "congratulations!" and "accepted" got past his mind, but he honestly couldn't comprehend much else. He couldn't believe it; he hadn't actually expected to get accepted, especially not on scholarship. The best news? Yuugi had just gotten accepted last week.

There was a small change in the room, as if he was being watched. He turned, curiously, to find said boy standing in his doorway. Yuugi's eyes were alight with humour and happiness, as they always were, the black spilling out into that beautiful purple, and Yami couldn't help the warmth he felt radiating from his chest. He smiled at his partner, nodding to him to come in. Yuugi seemed to get the message, and he walked right in, collapsing on Yami's bed.

"I got accepted to the college just a couple of blocks away. The one that deals with special needs kids all the time?" Yami said, "The same one you're going to."

Yuugi sat up then, his eyes bright with excitement. "Really? Yami, that's great! We can share an apartment and walk together to school-" Yuugi suddenly cut off, his cheeks turning pink from his enthusiasm. "I mean, of course, if you want to. I would never push you to do something that would make you uncomfortable, and you might want to get a start on your own. Just, the offer is there." Yuugi finished, swallowing. Yami chuckled.

"Of course I want to. Who else would I share an apartment with? You're the most important person to me right now, Yuugi. I couldn't think of anyone better." He said, honestly. Yuugi blushed again, but this time, there was a shy smile on his face.

He got up off the bed and walked slowly over to where Yami was sitting, moving the laptop from his lap. Once the space between them was free, Yuugi leaned down to initiate a quick kiss to Yami's lips, the peck causing both of them to melt.

"I love you." Yami mumbled into the kiss. Yuugi smiled against his lips.

That, kids, is how this story gets its happily ever after.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *A hero's battle in card games is referred to as a two on one. Yuugi was defending himself against two people at once. Basically, a nerdy way of saying "Stop ganging up on me!"
> 
> Hero's battles are very fun for both sides. I have participated in a few.
> 
> Just so you know, the prologue is still coming and should be released just a few minutes after this. It's short but wraps everything up and answers a lot of questions.
> 
> If you liked my writing but you're impatient to wait for my next YuGiOh! fic, (which I won't start until around Christmas, sorry!) you could check out my Supernatural stuff. All of it is AU, which means that you don't have to watch the show to understand the plot. My latest one is more along the themes/lines of what my next YuGiOh! story will be, so you'll be getting a sneak peak of how I write nature-ish scenes and stories involving a strong element of magic :-)


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

Three years later

  
  


Yami grabbed his coat off of the hook, wrapping it around his body. He quickly grabbed the smaller coat hanging beside it, holding it out for his partner. Yuugi quickly stepped forward and put his arms through his coat, turning around so it didn't go on backwards. Finally, when he was done, he turned back around and zipped up the front, while Yami retrieved his own scarf. Yuugi grabbed his own as they headed out the door, their small apartment shutting behind them.

“We're going to be late.” Yami said. Yuugi turned back so he could read his lips.

“It's your fault. You're the one who insisted we warm up by battling each other.”

“Well, I didn't want to go into this with minimum practice! I have to be warmed up before I face opponents this powerful! Plus, you're the one who insisted we get lunch on the way home from class.” Yami reminded him. Yuugi rolled his eyes, turning back around.

As soon as he did, his foot snagged on something. Yami grabbed his arm in a lightning quick move, keeping him from toppling over. He slowly turned around, eyes narrowing at his friend as they stared off. “Saved you again.” Yami purred.

“Well, don't expect a kiss.” Yuugi said, rolling his eyes. “Besides, saving my clumsy butt isn't exactly a change from usual. We're going to be late!”

Yami groaned and let Yuugi go, continuing his walk forward. He was right; they didn't have time for this. They were the reining champions, they couldn't be late to this without looking like idiots. Worse than that, like pretentious idiots.

Ever since a couple of years ago, they had been going to duel monster's tournaments. They had quickly dominated as a team, and they were top of the world in the ranks. They dueled as a team, usually, but even when they dueled alone, they showed exceptional skill. They were quickly accumulating fame, and had even had tournaments offer to fly them across the world to go to their events. Yuugi had been grocery shopping the other day and had gotten recognized.

It felt like they were on top of the world sometimes.

Of course, right there at the top with them were Mai and Joey, who also attended a fair amount of duels across the world. They were both already graduated from college, so they could afford to put life on hold for a week. Often times, when Yami and Yuugi found their class schedules too full to go and be guests of a tournament themselves, they sent the tournament Mai and Joey's contact information. Well, they didn't, per se.

That's because Mana, who had volunteered to be their agent, usually took care of that stuff.

Yuug turned around again, question written in his eyes. “Is Seto going to be there again? With Kisara?” He asked.

“I'm not sure, they might have gone to a different tournament now. There was that couples exclusive dueling thing in Chicago that we couldn't make it to, you know.” Yami reminded him. Yuugi nodded, giving a small frown.

“You know, we _could_ have gone. You could have let me pay for the rent this month. I know you like your job at the hospital, but it's really not necessary while you're in school. I have plenty of inheritance, and even more in stocks that Mana was sure would turn out good. You don't have to work and try to school at the same time, Yami.” Yuugi said.

Yami had kept his job filing papers at the hospital, despite several attempts of Yuugi's at getting him to quit. He wanted to support himself, and he'd feel bad letting Yuugi carry all of the bills and responsibility, no matter how much inheritance he had.

“No, we've been over this.” Yami said, shooting Yuugi a warning glare. Yuugi raised his hands in submission, nodding his head. “But it's a kind offer, thank you.”

Yuugi turned back around again, quietly power walking towards the doors. They crossed through and into the outside air, and Yuugi breathed in a big huff of spring. He fell back just a little bit, a mile on his face as he walked next to Yami. Just because they had to be there in fifteen minutes didn't mean they couldn't enjoy the walk.

Their apartment was three blocks from the school, six blocks from the hospital, and ten blocks from the closest dueling place. They were in literally the perfect area, the neighbors were nice, and they had each other. It wasn't the picture perfect life; far from it, they had problems and they had fights. However, Yami had never been more certain in his life that he could make it through anything with someone. Yuugi was his rock.

Suddenly, he felt a warm hand brush up against his own. He gave a small smile as he slowly opened his own hand, letting their fingers intertwine.

“I love you.” He muttered softly.

He couldn't hear it, but he would have bet everything he had that there was an “I love you” whispered back to him in return.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 will be out sometime today ^_^ I'm not gonna leave you with just the prologue~


End file.
